Naruto Joins Akatsuki
by Charandia
Summary: At the battle of the Valley of the End, Naruto manages to apprehend Sasuke but at the cost of being fatally injured. Kakashi, in being ordered to take Sasuke back alive, had to choose between the two young ninjas. When Naruto thought he was going to die, the Akatsuki show up and decide to take him in. What happens next is a mystery, even to Naruto.
1. Chapter 1

~1~

_Pat pat pat pat . . . . _the steady rhythm of Kakashi's running mixed with the rushing sound of blood in his ears. The edges of his vision were blurred with red, and the path ahead was stretched with shadows, and all Kakashi wanted to do was return home with a grinning, young knuckle-headed boy. Strangely enough Kakashi was hoping Orochimaru had taken Sasuke with him, that he had left Naruto. If he hadn't, Kakashi was only good enough for one trip, and the Hokage had specifically instructed him to take back Sasuke if he was still alive.

That meant leaving Naruto to die.

_Snap out of it Kakashi! Orochimaru wouldn't just leave Sasuke, he wants the boy badly. Badly enough to infiltrate the Leaf Village. It'll be only Naruto there. _With that in mind Kakashi hurried his pace. He could feel his body begin to shut down, the blood that he had lost was significant enough to warrant a visit to the hospital. The red on the edges of his vision were thickening, he really needed a rest.

'You should rest. At least for a minute.' Pakkun spoke from ahead, slowing down and casting a worried glance Kakashi's way.

'I can't. Naruto could be dying out there.' Kakashi managed to grunt out, regretting the lost breath almost instantly.

Pakkun didn't hesitate to follow the indirect order. He continued to follow the scent trail left by Naruto, he too was praying that there would be only the knuckle-headed ninja.  
The moon hung heavy in the sky, as full and large as a dinner platter. The night was beautiful, crickets faintly chirping in the distance. Those around him had fallen silent.

Suddenly Kakashi's legs tangled together and he fell to the floor in a tumbling heap. He skidded to a stop many meters from where he had first tripped and there he lay, groaning and in obvious pain, for several seconds as he regained his strength and courage. He had to keep moving, for Naruto.

Pakkun came running back, worry sparkling in his eyes as bright as fire. 'Kakashi! Kakashi are you alright?' He asked, circling around Kakashi and nudging him gently.

Kakashi groaned and sat up, head bowed and chest heaving, taking in deep lungfuls of air. 'I'm fine. We should . . . keep going.' As Kakashi spoke he heaved himself to his feet. He swayed uncertainly when he had reached his full height, and he had to lean against a tree for what felt like minutes.

'Man. Those ninja back there really took it out of you.' Pakkun muttered almost to himself. Kakashi nodded and immediately wished he hadn't. His head felt alive with bees.

'Unfortunately there were more than expected.' Kakashi muttered, remembering the fighting that had occurred back in the forest. The original team that had been sent to retrieve Sasuke had left, and Kakashi had feared that they wouldn't be enough. He had followed their path and had found many of them still in battle, and losing. But each time he was going to go in and help, they had been joined by one of the Sand Siblings, or their enemy was already defeated. Kakashi had moved on each time, and each time he had been more hopeful that everything was going to turn out okay, it was all going to be alright.

But then he had been ambushed, not by one or two or three ninja, but five. He had fought for his life there. Clearly Orochimaru had thought like Kakashi, that the team he had sent wasn't enough. Though Kakashi had been strong enough to fight them off, it had cost him nearly all of his chakra. He doubted whether he could even summon a shadow clone, or summon one of his hounds. The only strength he had now was to run.

Kakashi groaned once more, before slowly taking off in a run again. Pakkun hesitantly followed, still wishing that Kakashi would take a little more time to rest. When he saw that Kakashi wasn't going to stop, Pakkun took up his position in the lead again.

This time Kakashi was extra careful to not trip again.

The trees up ahead were seemingly opening up a path for the two, right up to the Valley of the End.

_There! _

A still body lying in the water, the current swirling around it with the purpose of carrying it off. The two statues stood still and proud, glaring at each other for eternity. Kakashi's heart soared at the sight. A single body, a single boy, that was what he had been hoping for. There was still hope.

Running up to it Kakashi hardly noticed the cold water soaking through his pants, nor the spray of the waterfall so close to the still boy. The moon still shone on the water, giving it a sharp glimmer and reflection so strong it could have been mirroring a parallel universe.

The joy of seeing the boy clouded Kakashi's vision even further, his short breath and deteriorating condition adding to that factor. Only when he nearly tripped over the boy did he notice that the mop of hair wasn't bright blonde, it was black.

_Sasuke. _

Oh no.

Kakashi felt his knees buckle, his legs give way. He fell down, hitting the water and soaking everything up to his nose. His shoulders shook, his sobs muffled in the fabric covering his lower face. He felt defeated. Utterly defeated.

'Kakashi! Naruto is over here! He's in a . . . . oh no.' Pakkun whispered as he saw Sasuke. But he had said enough already. 'Kakashi . . . can't you do something? What about first-aid? Would that help?' Pakkun asked desperately, running back over to Naruto. Kakashi shook his head slowly, mind running at a thousand miles an hour.

'No . . . they're dying and quickly. First aid would only give them minutes at best and there's no one close enough to get to them that quickly.' Kakashi explained.

'Isn't there some jutsu?' Pakkun asked again. He meant well, Kakashi knew that, but Pakkun should be able to see the situation as it was.

'I don't have the chakra.' Kakashi whispered in a voice so low Pakkun had to strain to hear it. He then realised the situation that they were in, and he decided to fall silent. This was something that Kakashi had to decide on his own.

Kakashi gulped loudly as he stared at Sasuke. It was all he could do.

This was a one way trip. Choose between saving a boy you'd trained and found yourself caring for and worrying over, or a boy who tried to kill the previous and who you'd only save because ordered to do so.

_Could I . . . no. Shadow clones halve my energy. I barely have enough to keep myself going. Carrying even one is going to be challenging. I'm stuck. _Kakashi thought, a rising sense of doom and dread welling up in his throat. Tears pricked at his eyes like sharp little needles, and Kakashi bowed his head before Sasuke's prone body. He needed to make a decision. Now.

_I'm just a solider, just a pawn. I have to do as ordered. The enemy seems to need Sasuke, to survive we need to take that away from them. _Kakashi thought miserably.

_Orochimaru wants Sasuke, badly. That's reason enough to choose Sasuke. But . . . Naruto is a jinchuurki. He's powerful, more so than Sasuke. But if I leave Sasuke here and Orochimaru finds him . . . Orochimaru wouldn't take Naruto if he found him. Naruto is good, too good for Orochimaru to bend to his will. But he would take Sasuke, because he's already been marked and is easier to bend. And if Naruto dies, so does the nine-tailed beast. If Sasuke dies, there goes the last of the Uchiha. _

It was becoming clearer to Kakashi what was the right, the better path to follow. It was heartbreaking, and it was turning Kakashi's insides inside-out. He felt pitiful then, truly pitiful. Even though they were both his teammates, and even though Kakashi had seen himself in Sasuke, Kakashi didn't want this. He didn't want this decision because he knew what he was going to do, and he didn't want to do it. Naruto deserved life, Naruto deserved to live and know what life felt like, he deserved to know that he had changed another person's life, a person who is also a jinchuurki. But he would never get that chance, because of Sasuke and the decision that Kakashi now had to make. More accurately, the decision that Kakashi now had to act out.

'Kakashi . . . . what are we going to do?' Pakkun asked, knowing that if they didn't move now the boys would most likely die no matter what, as Kakashi carelessly wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He hardened his heart, hardened his mind. What had he expected? That being a ninja was going to be as easy as counting? He should know better already, it's never like the stories say.

Shaking from the single hole in his heart that hadn't yet been covered with stone, Kakashi heaved himself to his feet. He stumbled at the first step, quickly regained his composure and stooped to pick up Sasuke.

He was bleeding from multiple wounds, several very deep and in urgent need of treatment. Kakashi stared at the boy, then turned on his heel and walked off towards the forest.

'But Kakashi, Naruto is right over there if we just . . .'

'No. I can't even look at him. Let's just leave.' Kakashi whispered, his grip on the boy tightening. He shook with every step he took, the edges of his vision had ceased being red. It was a relief, his breath was coming back easier now.

'But Kakashi . . .' Pakkun ventured uneasily.

'NO!' Kakashi roared, swinging back around to face Pakkun . . . and instead his eyes went instantly to Naruto. Eyes closed, blood staining his whiskers, clothes torn and ripped, his life's blood being washed away by the current.

And then something happened. Something that Kakashi never forgot. Naruto opened his eyes.

He opened his eyes and stared right at Kakashi. There was pain, and agony in those clear blue eyes, then there was hope. So much hope because he had seen Kakashi. He slowly, agonisingly, raised one hand towards Kakashi, whispered words that were unheard, words that were filled with happiness and joy. He tried crawling to Kakashi, lost his strength, and then tried again. Like Kakashi knew he would. Naruto never gave up. Never.

And now Kakashi had to betray him.

With a heart as heavy as lead Kakashi turned away, missing the anguish and total confusion in Naruto's now darkening eyes.

'I'm sorry . . . . Naruto.' Kakashi whispered, before leaping off into the darkness. Pakkun followed, but not after turning around to glance at Naruto. Those eyes, those confused and yet still hopeful eyes, turned on Pakkun. Pakkun swallowed the lump in his throat. What else was he to do? He was just a small dog, far away from home with no one around but Kakashi, and he was too busy carrying Sasuke.

No. Naruto had to be left behind. He'd be remembered as a hero by everyone, but he'd be left behind.

Then Pakkun too leapt away into the enfolding darkness, leaving a gasping Naruto behind. A Naruto who suddenly realised with astonishing clarity that he had been left to die by one of the people he had trusted most.

!

'The fight should have been around here hn.' Deidara spoke more to himself than his partner, Sasori.

'Indeed.' Sasori replied. His gaze shifted to the two tall statues standing facing each other. The Uchiha and the first Hogake. How ironic that now Naruto and Sasuke fought beneath their shadows.

'Hmm . . . . they are finely carved but art they aren't.' Deidara chuckled to himself on his purposeful play on words. Sasori ignored him. For him, such a ridiculous attempt at being humorous was beyond his attention.

They reached the edge of the waterfall and peered down into the darkness. The water was a bright glimmer, and the forest a dark foreboding fortress. It was a long way down, the water shooting mist up so the two could feel the cool on their faces.

Deidara sighed at the sight. 'Well, only one body down there. Don't know if it's that Uchiha brat or the other one hn.'

'One way to find out. Don't keep me waiting.' Sasori grunted.

'What you staying up here? Well whatever.' Deidara laughed to himself, released the clay in his hands and made a flying bird. Jumping on, he quickly descended down to the body. The closer he came, the more of the blonde glimmered on the head of the boy.  
'Nope. Definitely not Sasuke.' Deidara muttered as he jumped off and strode over to the still conscious boy. 'Now what are we going to do with a runt like you.'

Naruto tried to move, not even he knew why he did it, and all Deidara did was frown at the boy. 'Close to death and still trying to move hn. Well, lucky for you I'm not in a killing mood. Who knows, maybe we could even use you hn.' Deidara swung the boy onto his shoulder and leapt back onto his bird, not minding the grunt and scream that were torn from Naruto's throat at the rough handling.

Together they flew back up to Sasori. 'What you bring the kid for?' Was his first question to his blonde partner.

'Because, we might find use for him. His friends clearly left him, I saw tracks coming from the forest and then going back hn. He probably hates them right now, and that could come in handy. Besides hn, Pain thinks we're bringing someone back, so we'll bring someone back hn. And if we let him die, we lose our plan.' Deidara explained, quickly thinking on the spot.

Sasori seemed to take it after a moment of looking at the silently protesting boy. 'What will we tell him? He'll die when we take the beast from him. We can't keep that hidden if we use him and make him one of us.' Sasori questioned.

Deidara shrugged, carelessly hurting Naruto further. 'Why keep it from him hn? We have our ways to bring him back.'

Sasori stared at his partner with clear, intelligent eyes. He was clearly thinking things through. Then, without a sound, Sasori turned back the way they had come. 'At least you didn't keep me waiting.' He muttered just loud enough for Deidara to hear.

'I never would my man, never would.' Deidara waved off Sasori, letting his bird snap out of existence and carrying Naruto on his shoulder.

The last thing Naruto saw before he blacked out was the receding statues, and the path for the Leaf slowly fading away. For Naruto, the was the most symbolic thing in his life.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Three Years Later **_

'Mm yeah yeah it's not like I can actually change that. You know it's just something that I do.'

'Art is an explosion! An explosion I tell you! Art is a fleeting moment of beauty before it explodes and is gone forever!'

'Would you shut up about your sharks it's getting boring.'

'Art is everlasting, beauty that is captured and preserved forever. Your ridiculous notion that art is something explosive is just that . . . _ridiculous.' _

'No no I'd _love _to hear about Kisame-San's sharks! I find them as fascinating as toys and masks and everything else!'

'Does anyone have anything to eat? I'm getting hungry.'

'Would you shut up Tobi? This doesn't concern you!'

Naruto smiled as he walked into the common room. It wasn't every day that the Akatsuki were all together as they were, minus Pain of course. Even Karasu had managed to join everyone from her 'secret' activities in the north. The noise and constant arguing now made sense to Naruto. He remembered well when it had been something irritating and annoying. Now it seemed it was just life, everyone argued. That was how they showed they cared. They were battle-hardened murderous ninja. They weren't exactly going to write a love poem about their feelings.

Deidara and Sasori were arguing over art, as usual, and Deidara was thrusting his hands into his clay and making small creatures, then exploding them in Sasori's face. Sasori's tail was twitching to and fro while he tried to keep calm.

Zetsu was talking to no one, only muttering about how hungry he was and occasionally staring at Karasu, who was cooking silently in the kitchen.

Itachi and Kisame had been talking, Kisame boasting about some recent jutsu that he'd performed that had involved his sharks. Obviously Itachi had grown tired of Kisame's boasts and had told him to curb his tongue. At that, Tobi had jumped in claiming he loved sharks and hearing about them. Tobi was always trying to get on everyone's good side.

Kakazu and Hidan were silently arguing in the corner, a rarity for the both of them, with Konan lurking close by in case things got out of hand.

Yep. It was just an ordinary day in the hideout. In fact, it was a day of celebration, the reason why everyone had gathered. Karasu was whipping up a storm in the kitchen, and by the smells that wafted from the oven it was nearly finished.

'Hey Naruto, come over here a minute will you?' Karasu waved Naruto over. He wove around the bright red couch and glass coffee table, the long dining table that sat fifteen people and to the kitchen that was divided by a long island bench. Zetsu had found himself a seat there and was staring right at Karasu.

'What is it?' Naruto asked gruffly. Since he had been picked up three years ago his voice had certainly changed, and so had his attitude. No longer was he loud and annoying, with a squeaky voice to match, he was calm, cool and contained. His voice had finally broken, giving him a gruff deep sound.

He liked it.

'Set the table.' Karasu told him, stirring at the large tub that held batter for some concoction.

'What? Why me?' Naruto objected instantly.

'Because! Hidan and Kakazu are about to tear each other's throats out, Tobi is hiding from Kisame and Itachi is glaring at him with his eyes, Deidara and Sasori are exploding art everywhere, Konan is babysitting Hidan and Kakazu and Zetsu is so hungry he'd eat the plates! Do you have a problem with that?' Karasu snapped, bright blue eyes flashing a storm.

Sometimes Karasu was known as the _Sweet Akatsuki. _It was at moments like these that Naruto found it hard to believe that name had stuck.

'Alright alright. I'll go set the table.' Naruto muttered, beginning to slam open dark cupboards doors to find the large white plates that could feed an entire village.

'Don't slam things around!' Karasu snapped without turning around from her steaming pans. Naruto muttered an apology and went about his work, carefully.

Halfway through the work he looked around at his new home. Memories still lurked in his mind, memories that he knew he'd be keeping for a long long time. He remembered the Leaf, remembered training with Kakashi and meeting all those new exciting people. He remembered Gaara and fighting him, and the Old Toad Man, the Hokage and finding the new Hokage. Everything came and went in his mind. The triumphs, the failures, the hard work.

And of course being left behind to die. He had seen Kakashi see him, had seen him turn away and run off. Not even Pakkun had bothered to help him. Naruto had been lying there, knowing death was closing in, when Deidara had found him. At the time Naruto had been horrified, thinking that he would never turn to their side. But a few good months with them had changed all that.

Now, this was his home. The cavern was as big as ten houses placed on top of each other, the lights that hung down needing a cord that was at least fifty metres long. The gaming corner with the foosball table and checkers, the ground that had been carpeted until there wasn't much of the original smooth, worn out stone left showing. The constant bickering that now was music to his ears. Even annoying Tobi was something to look forward to at the end of the day.

Also, Naruto had grown a healthy hatred of the Leaf. They had deserted him, they hadn't come looking for him. He hadn't seen a single effort from them to locate him, not even his body. He had checked multiple times, and only once had they come back, and that was morning after he'd been found. At first Naruto was overjoyed at had tried to reach them, but Kakazu had held him back. Kakazu, Hidan, Deidara and Sasori had been assigned to take him back. If it had been Itachi, Naruto would have suspected some foul play, as his eyes might have made him see things that weren't real.

Instead, Naruto had seen Pakkun and Kakashi walk to where Naruto had been dying, look around, and then walk straight back into the forest.

'_See that, kid? They don't even care. They could be looking for you, looking down the river, but no. They're just leaving you to rot.' _Hidan had said, chuckling quietly.

'_No! No they wouldn't! They wouldn't! They'll come searching for me! I swear they will! I'm important to them!' _Naruto had fought. His wounds had still been stinging, and were in danger of opening up. Someone had healed him with medical jutsu the night before.

'_Oh really? Well, if in six months they still don't come, you're one of us.'_ Kakazu had whispered loud enough for everyone else to hear. A sort of hissing whisper that sounded like snakes.

'_And if they do come?' _Naruto had asked defiantly.

'_Then it's fair game.' _Sasori had groaned before turning to walk back to the hideout. They had dragged Naruto along behind them, kicking and screaming as he called for Kakashi.

Six months and no one had come.

Six months of hopeful waiting, of a waiting that was so certain it nearly pained him to think back to it. Of course the Leaf wouldn't come looking for him! He was expendable to them, always had been. He'd been the monster of the Leaf, kept under watch in case he broke out and killed everyone.

Then Karasu had come into the hideout, and been made his partner. Since then Naruto hadn't known he could feel to content, like he truly belonged somewhere, as much as he did.

'Naruto snap out of it you thick-headed oaf! Cutlery! Or do you want to become animals again!' Karasu snapped, whacking the top of Naruto's head with a wooden spoon.

'Ooooow.' Naruto complained, rubbing the top of his head and glowering at Karasu. She only glared right back, eyes alight with fire and hair tussled and wild. She really was beautiful when she chose to be, in fact she beautiful even if she tried to avoid being so. Her temper was the only problem Naruto could see. It could make even the mountains quiver.

'If you don't get to setting this place up in the next ten seconds then I'm going to make sure that your life will be a living hell! Now _get to it!_' Karasu yelled the last part, yanking off her shoe and throwing it at Naruto.

'Shadow Clone Jutsu!' Naruto yelled, performing the hand sign. Instantly ten clouds of smoke came up around them, and perfect clones appeared. They all ran for the cutlery draw, grabbed their knives and forks, and ran back to the table setting it all up. The original Naruto smirked and crossed his arms gloatingly over his chest.  
'What do you think about that?'

'I think you're a lazy sod.' Karasu snapped, her favourite type of speech, before throwing her other at Naruto. He dodged quickly, laughing as it hit one of the clones and made him vanish in a loud cloud of smog.

Laughing, Naruto righted himself and walked smugly to his seat. 'And I think you're just making us wait for food now, because you are mad at me.'

'What? But . . . . food.' Zetsu groaned slowly, sliding off his seat and making his way to his dining chair. Karasu rolled her eyes and dished out the food she had prepared onto serving platters, sliding them down the long table.

No one had noticed. Everyone was still arguing, though some stomachs had been rumbling loudly for some time.

'IF NO ONE COMES TO GET THIS FOOD RIGHT NOW I SHALL PERSONALLY SEE TO IT THAT YOU ALL BURN!' Karasu screamed at them, sinking herself into her seat and staring at everyone with a look that could kill.

Instantly the cavernous room was silent, all eyes turning towards the table. Suddenly they all began to run, tripping over everyone else in their way so they could throw themselves into the chairs closest to their favourite food. Deidara came to a chair before Kisame, who flashed his teeth and sat next to Deidara, Sasori threw Hidan off a chair that he had claimed long ago, much to Hidan's shouting and cursing which was cut off by Karasu, and so on.

Finally when the dust had settled, and everyone was staring at the food waiting for Karasu's permission to eat, did Karasu give a haughty nod. Once again chaos erupted around the table, but this time it was a chaos that was . . . . nice. Everyone reaching to grab food, piling their plates high, and laughing at the smallest of things.

Smiling Naruto leaned back in his chair. Oh yes. This was definitely better than the Leaf had ever been.


	3. Chapter 3

_**At the Leaf Village **_

_Knock knock. _'Come in!' Tsunade yelled at the closed door. She was in a particularly grouchy mood that day, on the finest of days. The sun was shining, the birds twittering in their nests high above the ground. The village was bustling with life and energy, stores were open for longer especially the Ramen store, and bad news hadn't been heard for a long long time.

On other days this would be a marvellous occasion celebrated with sake. Today all Tsunade felt like doing was visit the graveyard and pay homage to her brother and a friend who she had lost.

Kakashi came in slowly, hesitantly, as if fearing what he would see inside. His one eye still held a tinge of red as if he had been rubbing it repeatedly for a few hours. His hair was mussed, probably hadn't brushed it since he'd crawled out of bed, and he was running his hand through it repeatedly.

'Ah Kakashi. I was expecting you here today. What can I do for you?' Tsunade asked. She too didn't look her finest, with dark bags hanging under her eyes and hair that had been clumsily tied into pigtails, tufts of it still to pass underneath the hair bands.

'Milady I . . . . am not here for the reasons you may think.' Kakashi managed to push out his mouth. His words were as heavy as lead on the air, and as thick to get out. The burden he felt was obviously tremendous.

'No? Well, is it important?' Tsunade asked, entwining her hands together in front of her mouth. She would not have Kakashi see her lips tremble.

'It's about the Akatsuki.'

'Oh not today Kakashi!' Tsunade thundered, throwing herself back in her chair. Her eyes narrowed down to tiny slits, and their weight rested fully on the dismal Kakashi. 'Isn't today enough of a bad omen without the news of these blasted Akatsuki? And that with the added protection needed for the Lord Kazekage I cannot manage all of this at once!'

'Unfortunately . . .'

'No!' Tsunade was close to wailing. Her secretary had quit after the village had been told of Naruto's death, along with the little pig. Tsunade couldn't even remember their names. Shizuke? Shinule? Something like that.

'Hokage! May I remind you of your duty! Yes, today is a sad day but for the good of our village and our land you must hear this!' Kakashi loudly and sternly halted Tsunade's irrational, unbalanced thinking.

Tsunade was taken aback. She reeled in her seat, eyes fastened on Kakashi, taking in deep breaths through her nose and exhaling through her mouth.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she had pulled herself together enough to have considered listening to the news on the Akatsuki. An organisation that had been apparently growing more and more vibrant since Naruto's death.

'Alright. Go on.' Tsunade whispered.

'Alright. There are rumours that ninja in black cloaks with red clouds have been roaming the countryside, some have even been spotted outside the Sand Village and the Leaf Village. Their activity has increased enormously these last couple of months, these are just the latest reports.' Kakashi informed Tsunade, throwing a large pile of papers on Tsunade's heavy desk.

Every single one of those papers was a filed report on an Akatsuki sighting.

'Thank you Kakashi.' Tsunade groaned, rubbing her temple. Papers irritated her, and she fired nearly every secretary that came her way for being incompetent. If only Shizume had stuck around.

'Thank you Hokage.' Kakashi attempted to take his leave. He was feeling the need to visit someone for the day.

However the Hokage had other plans.

'You never really told me what happened back there, at the Valley of the End.' The Hokage's voice was soft, delicate. It was as if she was afraid if she spoke too loud, the words would leave her. Kakashi's retreating form stopped short of the door, hand outstretched to grasp the handle.

Tears were welling in Kakashi's eyes as his mind replayed the moments again and again and again. Running away with Sasuke in his arms, meeting the medical ninjas at the halfway point and demanding that they go in search of Naruto, that the boy was near death. Only two had left, four others had stayed with him, Sasuke and Pakkun. They had given him something, and he remembered feeling ill, dizzy and then feeling the ground rush up to his face, the numbing pain that went with it.  
He had never spoken a word of it, not even in a report. It had been pretty clear from their arrival what had happened, and the reports of the medical ninjas had only further proved everyone's worst suspicions.

'D . . . . do you honestly want to know?' Kakashi whispered so quietly Tsunade had to lean forwards to hear.

'Of course. Naruto was my friend, he may have been knuckle-headed but he had the true strength of a future Hokage. He was the light that changed people, and he died. Now, I want to know how and why.' Tsunade spoke with a confidence that hadn't been heard since Naruto's death.

Her eyes flashed as Kakashi drew breath to refuse her, and he suddenly knew that Tsunade would always be asking, always be demanding the answers to the question most of the village wanted answered. As well as that, the Hokage had given him an indirect demand, and he was only a Junin.

'I saw both there, in pools of blood. I had to take Sasuke, Orochimaru wanted him. Those were my orders. As I left Naruto . . . h . . . h-he saw me. H-he tried t-to reach out to m-me. I-I left. I had to. The m-medics say n-no body w-was found.' Kakashi began choking on every word, the horrible images and thoughts never leaving his head. What would it have been like, for Naruto to see him just walk away. What if . . . . was he in pain? In the end, had Naruto felt pain?

'And . . . you were not strong enough to make a copy of yourself. If you had, none of you would have made it.' Tsunade whispered, piecing together the last, missing puzzle.

Kakashi said nothing, only opened the door and rushed outside.

The door clanged shut. Tsunade sat there, the papers all over her desk, hands clasped in front of her face with hollow eyes, rings under her eyes. She sighed heavily, her mind weighed down just as Kakashi's was. Beside her she saw some sake, and quickly threw it down her throat. It was strong, and she savoured the burning taste. It was time for some more.

'MORE!' She screamed at the closed door of her new secretary. A young man whose name Tsunade didn't care to remember. She'd only fire him soon anyway.

Sakura was walking aimlessly through the village. So far she had encountered Kiba, sitting with the fully grown Akamura beneath a low hanging tree, just staring at nothing, and Choji who had only eaten one bag of chips.

Naruto's favourite Ramen store was giving away free ramen, yet no one really felt like eating any. Looking over there, the flaps waving loosely in the slight breeze, Sakura could nearly see the blonde haired kid, sitting there slurping down ramen like there was no tomorrow.

Sakura looked away, tears welling in her turquoise eyes. Tomorrow everything would be kind of back to normal, ramen would be costly and people would be walking around with a spring in their step.

Where was Sasuke? He blamed himself completely for Naruto's death, always wailing about how he shouldn't have listened to Orochimaru, how he should have been stronger. How he should have realised that his real family was in Konoha. On the anniversary he was always at his worst, sometimes he even visited the Uchiha's former village, staring at everything and touching everything, but never making a sound.

Up ahead was the gate. No stragglers would be here today. The pathway outside looked so lovely, so green. Large trees hanging over the pathway, giving soft shade. Emerald grass stretched its leave towards the glistening blue sky, and little flowers popped up everywhere giving the world some colour.

'Hey Kotetsu, hey Izumo.' Sakura greeted the two playing checkers. They looked up and gave her a soft wave and the faintest of smiles.

'Hey Sakura, how you holding up?' Kotetsu asked, his shaggy black hair having seemingly more spikes than usual. Sakura shrugged and looked out at the perfect world. Behind her was only sadness and mooching, grumbling ninjas. How she'd love to run out and away from everything, taking some time for herself.

'As much as can be expected I guess.' Sakura tried for her trademark easy smile with closed eyes. It didn't work as well as she had hoped, but at least it stopped the two ninjas from asking anymore questions.

Sakura opened her eyes to look once more outside, then go in search of Sasuke, when she saw something shift, just for an instant. She thought she saw, for that moment, blonde hair and slitted blue eyes that held hatred and menace in them, and she gasped, recoiling as if she had been hit.

Kotetsu and Izumo, startled into action, sprung up and snapped their heads towards the forests. But they saw nothing.

'Sakura, what is it?' Izumo asked worriedly, staring at her and then the forests with wide eyes, searching for something that could have caused that reaction.

Slowly, Sakura's hands found their places by her sides again, her mouth gently closing itself. 'N-nothing. I just thought . . . I saw someone.' Sakura whispered the last part, staring at where the figure had been.

There was nothing there, no sign that someone had passed. No grass slowly rising back into position, not trees moving a little strangely. Even the birds kept their loving songs.

'Yeah, it was nothing. I'm sorry to have worried you, but I should be getting back now. I need to find Sasuke. Goodbye!' Sakura called waving cheerfully.

Izumo and Kotetsu looked at each other in hesitant confusion, unsure if they wanted to know what had caused that gasp. They peered once again to the forest, but they didn't see the dark shadow of a girl watching them intently, black hair flowing down her back like dark angels wings.

Sasuke glanced around the empty room. He didn't know where he was, somewhere on the outskirts of the village probably. It was falling to ruins, rubble strewed across the floor like a giants unwanted play blocks. The floor, Sasuke could see, used to be clean and scrubbed every day, but now it was covered in a fine layer of dust. Through the broken windows sunlight streamed in, showing the dancing particles, intricately weaving their way around each other.

He didn't know why he had come to some strangers abandoned house, little did he know this was where Naruto had once partially lived. No one had known about it, that he had been attracted to house overgrown with vines and a fox living inside it with kits. Not even Kakashi had known that, on weeknights when Naruto hadn't been able to sleep, he'd come to this house and kept it pristine, but allowing the vines to grow along the outside. Every spring yellow and blue flowers had sprouted with petals as large as small cats.

Now here he stood, looking at little cards that had been placed on the walls. One was a fox's head, staring at him with a sheepish grin. Another was a bright pink blossom, beautiful in the sunlight. The third was of a black raven with burning coal black eyes, its head cocked to one side. The last, hanging a little way away, was of a silver dog with long hair, one eye closed in peace the other staring out at the world with bright blue eyes.

They reminded him of someone, of a team, but his mind was hazy with pain and sadness, but most of all guilt. He didn't realise that these were symbols of his late team.

'Sasuke?' Sakura's clear voice rang through the small house. She pushed her way past the tangling vines, and saw Sasuke standing there staring at the cards.

'Sakura?' Sasuke asked, his voice timid and wavering. He was now a Junin, same as Neji, Temari and Kankuro. Sakura, also, was a Junin. Soon the others would all be going for Junin as well, as soon as these stupid Chunin exams were over.

'Yeah, it's me.' Sakura smiled her wavering smile again, hands clasped in front of her. Her eyes sought Sasuke, sought the old fire and ladies man that he had once been. But instead found only dark eyes with tears threatening to spill. 'Oh Sasuke. I'm so sorry. I . . . . I shouldn't have left you today I'm so sorry. But everyone's gathering in the hall for the memorial.' Sakura told Sasuke. Every year, on the anniversary, Konahakagure held a memorial where friends of Naruto's, and those that simply missed him, gathered in the hall and heard speeches and saw photos of Naruto.

This year Gaara and Kiba were meant to be saying something. Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi were always seated in the first row. Tissues were provided.

'I . . . . I don't think I can go Sakura. I mean, it's Naruto I know. But I'm the reason he's dead!' Sasuke groaned, holding his head in his hands.

'No! No it's not! No one blames you we all blame Orochimaru! That little snake, why if he hadn't set his sights on you and forced you into doing what you did, manipulated you with sweet talk nothing would have happened! Now come on! Don't talk nonsense it's Naruto's memorial! We were a team, we have to go!' Sakura spoke with such confidence and heat it actually startled Sasuke a little. He hadn't heard Sakura speak like that since three years ago.

'I was weak Sakura! It's all because of me! If I had been strong Orochimaru wouldn't have gotten his claws in me, and I wouldn't have fallen for his stupid parlour tricks!' Sasuke fired back after he had regained his breath and mind.

'Orochimaru is a skilled ninja! He's one of the three legends or whatever they're called! Not even Kakashi could beat him how do you expect to?' Sakura cried out. Their voices had reached the level of yelling.

'I didn't need to beat him! Just be strong enough to not be subdued and hypnotised!' Sasuke screamed, hands balling into fists beside him.

'And you two need to shut up! The memorial for Naruto is beginning and you two aren't there, his teammates! Pull it together!' Kakashi yelled from the window just as Sakura opened her mouth ot reply.

The two swung their heads around in shock, and saw their mentor and teacher parting the vines with his head, pollen coating his silvery fine hair. The two burst out into fits of giggles, staring at their mentor as he looked at them, eyes half lidded in his desperation to sneeze.

'I's no' fu-y gus.' Kakashi groaned, rubbing his nose so harshly the pollen dropped off onto his shoulders. He gave a gigantic sneeze and sighed in relief.

'Oh it's not I'm sorry Kakashi. It's easy for those who haven't got hay fever to laugh at those who do.' Sakura said amidst her giggles. Sasuke still hadn't stopped and begun angrily wiping his eyes, causing them to grow red.

Kakashi smiled lazily at his team, glad that they were happy and laughing on this day. Then he saw the fox, flower, raven and dog and sighed.

'Do you realise where we might be standing?' Kakashi asked everyone. They stopped their giggles with little coughs and gasps for breath, Sasuke standing up to his full height once more and smoothing back his slick black hair. He was wearing the same clothing he would have worn if he had walked with Orochimaru, without the purple bowtie on his back. A katana hung loosely on his hip.

'In an abandoned house?' Sakura questioned, her previous rage and anger having been dissipated by the laughter.

'Look at the pictures.' Everyone turned to look at them. Sakura instantly knew what they were, but Sasuke needed a little more explaining.

'One fox, Naruto had the fox inside of him, one cherry blossom, one raven with black eyes and one silver dog. I knew Naruto had a house on the outskirts of town, I just didn't know where. He kept it hidden from everyone.' Kakashi explained. It was suddenly silent, quieter than before Sakura had arrived. The birds had stopped their songs, the breeze had stopped shifting fallen leaves and the bees had finished gathering the pollen.

'We should . . . turn it around.' Sakura suggested. Everyone looked to Sasuke. They didn't know why, but it felt right that he should do it. Perhaps to still his guilt, perhaps as an apology to Naruto, but whatever the reason, Sasuke agreed with them. He slowly reached a shaking hand forward, hesitated for an instant to calm his nerves, and lifted the little card. Gently, with as much love and care as he wished he could have shown Naruto, he turned it around so the fox faced the wall.

'Until the afterlife, where I hope you can forgive me.' Sasuke whispered, a single tear slipping out of one eye. He believed he had cried too much in the past three years, yet he sometimes couldn't stop himself.

'It's time to go. We're late, and Gaara and Kiba won't begin before you're there.' Kakashi told them and together they walked through the town, casting glances back at the abandoned house as they went.

No one noticed the hand that reached out from the vines and turned the fox around, or the menacing blue eye with the words _'I'll _never _forgive you.' _Hissed alongside it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Preparation**

'Naruto you can hardly expect to run off like this without having to discuss it first with the rest of us.' Karasu spoke harshly as she leaned against Naruto's door frame, watching him throw a few essentials in one of his bags.

'This is important. If we hit him now when he's vulnerable it'll be easier to defeat him!' Naruto growled angrily. His eyes were constantly flashing from bright blue to dark red. He had managed to make friends with the fox spirit, and the two regularly shared the body and strength, even had lengthy discussions.

'But he's with his siblings, both are Junin. If you hit him now not only are you putting yourself at risk but all of us.' Karasu tried to reason with him, letting him pass her and into the narrow earth hallway.

Doors lined one side the hallway, the other had glowing, eerie red lights on it. Persian rugs dotted the floor, each stranger and more intricate than the last. Each ninja had decorated their own room as well, and fitted stolen furniture inside.

Naruto's walls were bare earth, with glowing lamps hanging on twisting, stretching metal holders. There were different colours, and they cast the room in an eerie light. There was a main light, large and spiralling, the washed the room in white light. His bed stood in the middle, a double bed with crisp white sheets and a light brown wooden frame. Shaggy white rugs littered the floor, and there were large, leafy green plants wherever there wasn't a better idea for anything else. A wardrobe taller than Kizame, a small television surrounded by beanbags and square glass tables that could only hold one bowl, and a large fish tank filled with tropical fish. It was Naruto's pride and joy, and Kizame was insanely jealous.

There was also a small flap for the local foxes to come inside. Naruto adored them, and they adored him. He'd spend most afternoons watching them, laughing and speaking with them as if they were friends.

He was a light-hearted ninja, dragged down by his past and the friends who had left him for dead without a second thought. Karasu understood his hatred towards them, she too could name a few that she wanted to bring down, but Karasu also understood the ninja's powers and abilities. If Naruto went now, he'd need backup and he was so close to refusing it.

'Naruto would you please just stop!' Karasu snapped running after him. His pace forced her into a steady jog. The hallway wound around like a giant circle, which it was in fact. It surrounded the main rooms, the living, dining and kitchen. The walls of the hallway were the walls of the kitchen.

There was no doorway, just a widening of space. If a ninja was unfamiliar with the living quarters of the Akatsuki they may have stopped in surprise to find themselves bathed in what seemed to be natural light, and facing a large space with ambling ninja here and there. Tobi and Deidara were at it again by the kitchen counter, Kizame was pacing about the waterfall angrily, probably waiting for Itachi to return from something he had had to take care of by himself, and Hidan was cleaning his blade while watching a strange episode where two ninja hunted down supernatural creatures. One was always getting killed, or finding out that they had demon blood inside of them, and there was always blood being spilled. It was no wonder Hidan found it so entertaining.

'Naruto!' Karasu snapped loudly enough for everyone to stop what they were doing and peer curiously at the two ninja. Konan flitted into the room on the opposite side.

'What!' Naruto snapped right back, eyes blazing with fury. Strangely enough they kept their blue shade. Perhaps the fox didn't feel like meddling with such puny affairs.

'If you're going to do this I'm coming with you and there's _nothing _you can do about that!' Karasu growled, hands balling into fists at her side. She was Naruto's partner after all, and earlier it had been decided that Deidara and Sasori were going to take care of this together. No matter how hard Naruto had been training, how much he had improved, he'd need Karasu along with him.

'I don't need help.' Naruto muttered, turning back around and pulling on his cloak. He looked down at his bag, decided against taking it, and threw it on the ground.

_He'll be raiding some village for food then I presume. _Karasu thought approvingly to herself.

'Yes, you do.' Karasu stated firmly, walking towards Naruto and the exit.

'What's going on?' Deidara asked, walking around the wide-eyed Tobi and towards the two arguing Ninja.

Karasu sighed in annoyance and ran a hand through her ebony hair. Naruto could be such a pain sometimes. 'Naruto wants to hunt down Gaara and take him on by himself. He's returning from Konahakagure with Temari and Kankuro.' Karasu explained shortly.

Deidara laughed and whistled through his teeth. 'That's a little dangerous un.' He chuckled, looking at Naruto with newfound respect.

Karasu slapped his arm harshly. 'It's nothing to be proud of! He's acting out of anger and needs to accept that if he's going, then so am I.' Karasu informed, narrowing her eyes at Naruto. He still stood just ready to leave, cloak billowing around him from the force of the waterfall. Spray misted his hair and cheeks, but he didn't even seem to notice.

'Looks like someone has a crush.' Hidan sang, grinning evilly from the plush couch.

'Ooh I hear wedding bells!' Tobi cried like a child, giggling with his hands in front of his mask. Karasu scoffed at them and decided to ignore them.

'This was meant to be for Sasori and Deidara, and they were going to go _together. _Yeah, we're Akatsuki and yeah, we can take on anyone but we're not idiots! We have teams for a _reason_!' Karasu snapped angrily.

She stared down Naruto with slitted eyes, and he returned the favour.

Suddenly there was silence. All you could hear with the waterfall crashing down to earth and the ticking of a clock in the kitchen. Everyone was watching now, waiting to hear what Naruto would say. Karasu was certain that if he refused her, Konan would step in, maybe even ban him from leaving before Gaara had his sand creature taken out of him.

'This is exciting.' Karasu heard Tobi whisper shrilly to Konan, who only glared at him. Tobi hopped down from his stool and made his way to the couch, arms swinging about him lazily. He sat down heavily, throwing his feet in the air and landing them right next to Hidan who growled and threatened to snap them off if he wasn't careful.

'Naruto.' Karasu spoke normally, eyes returning to their normal stance. Deidara moved behind her and began whispering painfully in her ear.

'He's going to say yes. You're going to go out together un, and he's going to propose. You're going to say yes, and get married un. By the time you come back un, you'll be pregnant. We're going to have our first couple un!' He exclaimed, knowing how much it annoyed Karasu when the others made assumptions about her relationship with Naruto. They were just teammates, friends who looked out for each other.

She swatted at the blonde like he was a pesky fly.

'Alright. Come along if you must. We'll take him to the closest base to Konahakagure.' Naruto spoke the name like it was poison on his tongue. Karasu smiled for the first time that day, and grabbed her cloak. She swung it on herself, checked her hips for weapons, and set off at a leisurely pace. Deidara returned to raiding the kitchen, chuckling and saying how Karasu and Naruto had saved him some time. Konan faded back into the shadows, Hidan nearly followed his promise of breaking Tobi's legs, and Tobi ran off to find something edible, possibly steal it from Deidara.

'Be ready guys!' Karasu called to the others, waving her hand excitedly. She was just like a child when she found out she was going on a new mission. It always gave her a thrill, especially when the ninjas they were going face were as strong as the Sand Siblings. 'Naruto, why are we going to the Leaf Base? We leave Temari and Kankuro alive, they go warn the Leaf and they come and find us. We're going to need some time to extract the sand creature thing, why risk it?' Karasu asked as an afterthought. She generally tended to trust Naruto with these things, but it just didn't seem sensible to work like this.

'Because, they're going to need to warn the Sand Village of what has transpired, and they're going to need to find us. With your skills we should be able to keep them at bay for some time. I also want to shock them. Seeing an Akatsuki who looks like me, when they think I'm dead, it's going to be terrifying for them. Then, in that instant that they see us, we vanish, leaving them without anything.' Naruto smirked at his own plan, walking out of the waterfall and into the bright sunlight.

Karasu rolled her eyes at the sodden state she knew he'd be in, and went around it her way, vanishing in a puff of black smoke and reappearing beside Naruto.

Gaara was walking along the pathway with Temari and Kankuro on either side. He had given his speech on Naruto three days ago, and now had matters to attend to at home. Apparently without him the village couldn't run itself.

Gaara casually controlled the sand at his feet, making it swirl around and twist by his ankles like a pet snake. It soothed him, and at this time every year he certainly needed a lot of soothing. His speech had been about how he had once been filled with hate and loathing to those that believed in love. Then he had meet Naruto, admittedly fought with him and turned into Shukaku. Only after he had battled Naruto had he come to realise what love, family and life meant. It had been long, and many had sniffled or cried during it. Sakura hadn't been able to hold in her tears, and Sasuke had been silent the entire time, his eyes never leaving a certain area of the wall.

Temari's hand was continuously reaching up to touch her fan, and Kankuro was clearly on edge, eyes darting to and fro and muscles tensed and ready.

Gaara wanted to ask them what was so wrong, why they couldn't relax in the early morning sunshine, underneath a pure blue sky without clouds.

The trees rustled on the side of the path, and Kankuro nearly jumped out of his skin. A startled rabbit came bounding out and ran like the wind across the path.

Kankuro let out a sigh of relief. 'Only a rabbit.' He grinned at the others. Gaara nodded in agreement, but Temari was unsure.

'Didn't you notice that that rabbit didn't even notice us? I think something scared it before it came out.' Temari observed, anxiously moving her fan around its holder so it would be easy to retrieve if it came to a fight.

Up ahead was a long stretch of rock bordered by dense forest. Either you chose to walk for three extra hours navigating the twisting, winding pathway through the forest or you chose to walk across the rock, in full exposure but needing only ten minutes.

For the Sand Siblings there was usually no questioning. Yet today, for Temari, something felt off. 'Gaara I think we should go through the forest. It's not as exposed, and it should be safer.' Temari whispered harshly. Kankuro glanced incredulously at her.

'Don't be so scared Temari, it takes so much longer going through the forest and there's no one here. The rabbit got freaked by us it's no big deal.' Kankuro chuckled, making his way easily onto the stone. He glanced around once, to satisfy Temari, and turned back grinned. 'There's not a soul in sight, SIR!' Kankuro chuckled.

Temari flashed him a glare and cautiously made her way next to her brother. She too glanced around and saw no one.

'Also, fighting in the forest would be nearly impossible. It is far easier to fight on open ground.' Gaara advised, walking up next to the two eldest siblings. He did not share his sisters misgivings, and felt completely at ease.

They stood there for a moment, staring out at the open spaces with the wind lifting their hair from their eyes. Behind them was the road with the open, grassy forests. Apparently there had been a curse here long ago, a curse causing the ground to solidify and the forests to allow no one to pass, only those with a black heart. The ninjas of Sunagakure and Konohakagure had managed to hack out a path after many years of trying.

'Let's get a move on. We want to be there early right?' Kankuro spoke cheerfully, holding his hands behind his head. His muscles were still tensed.

Temari looked around once more nervously before continuing with her two brothers.

No one noticed the dark form in the forest watching them, timing their every move.

Five minutes of the Sand Siblings walking on the stone and nothing had happened. The forest had grown thicker around them, and even Temari walked with a little spring in her step.

That was until they saw someone up ahead. A girl, with eyes as black as the night and hair as long as a short cape, its ebony hair seemingly reflecting the sunlight. She wasn't pale, and she walked along just as casually as Temari had a few moments earlier. The boys didn't seem to mind seeing another traveller.

'It's a well used route Temari calm down. It's just some kid.' Kankuro hissed in Temari's ear.

'Hello.' Gaara greeted the girl. She jerked her head up like she hadn't noticed them. She smiled a little absentmindedly.

'Oh hello. My apologies I did not notice I was not alone. Beautiful day for travelling is it not?' The girl spoke formally, her smile twitching to a polite one. Her eyes quickly roamed over them, taking in everything about them. The three felt suddenly naked.

'Indeed. But we are in an awful hurry sorry to be rude.' Temari spoke quickly and began walking again.

'Are you not the legendary Sand Siblings? I've heard so much about you, and especially you, Gaara of the Sand.' The girl spoke again, the smile lessening. Her eyes were roaming over their faces quite casually now, as if she had already memorised every detail.

'Well, _legendary _are we?' Kankuro asked smugly, turning around and flashing Temari a smirk. Temari huffed angrily and crossed her arms over her chest. She knew it was no time to be fooling around. Sunagakure needed them.

'Indeed. In my small village we have heard many tales of your adventures.' The girl complimented, moving closer every second.

Temari suddenly had a glance at her eyes, and felt the bottom of her stomach fall to her toes. Before she hadn't felt comfortable looking into them. They were so black, so unusual and they had raked them from head to toe. Now, looking into them for a split second Temari say an overwhelming amount of hatred smouldering below the surface.

'Kankuro, step away from her _now_.' Temari hissed dangerously. Kankuro instantly recognised the tone and stepped uncertainly away from her.

'Temari?' He whispered.

'What is it Temari? See something?' The girl asked innocently, tilting her head to one side curiously. Once again Temari saw those eyes, and a violent shiver wracked her body. How could someone hate so much? What was worse it wasn't uncontrolled, violent hatred. That could be dealt with, that was explosive but it went away. This was controlled, channelled and calm. This was hatred that lasted generations and hardly ever went away.

'She's dangerous.' Temari growled, flicking out her fan and holding it in the ready position. Kankuro, quickly seeing his sister wasn't lying, and trusting her instincts, quickly unwrapped Scarecrow. Gaara's sand filed around him slowly. All eyes were on the girl.

'Indeed I am.' The girl smiled, and flung a cloak around her body. The sun was directly behind her, and so the Sand Siblings didn't see the red clouds that dotted her cloak. But when they did, they quickly attacked.

But before them was nothing but black smoke. A dark chuckle was emitted from behind them.

'I'm sorry, but I'm only fighting Temari and Kankuro. Gaara is saved for someone very special.' The girl whispered, her eyes wild with anticipation and excitement.

'Who. Who could possibly have saved Gaara!?' Temari seethed. She suddenly felt cool burning anger towards this girl, who threatened her little brother. Who was part of the Akatsuki organisation, a girl that was more dangerous than any other ninja they had faced. She seemed to innocently dangerous as well, like someone who didn't even know the full extent of their abilities. It scared Temari, knowing she was up against someone so formidable.

'Hello, _Gaara._' A cool voice hissed. The voice was so cold, filled with bubbling anger and hatred. Like the girl, it seemed controlled and sent violent shivers down the three ninjas spines. Only difference was, they all knew this voice. Or at least who it had once belonged to.

They all slowly turned around, fearing what they would be seeing.

There, in front of them, was a grown Naruto. Blonde hair the same, ruffled and spiked. His whiskers had also grown longer, nearly reaching his ears. But that's where it all ended. His hands were stuffed inside the Aktuski cloak's pockets, and his sparkling blue eyes were narrowed and directed at Gaara. He seemed to see no one else.

'N . . . . N . . .N-Naruto?' Gaara whispered, knees knocking together and breath failing him. Temari had tears shooting to her eyes, not even noticing how much he had changed. Kankuro also felt like he had been punched in the stomach, all air being taken from him.

Naruto tilted his head to one side. 'Long time no see, _friend.'_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five **

Karasu stared at her opponents, quickly gauging their moves, strengths, weaknesses. She felt her fingers flexing in anticipation. This was serious, a single wrong move meant certain defeat, and defeat meant capture and torture or death.

How exciting.

Temari was a strategist, her mind worked quickly and efficiently, scurrying over many possibilities. It meant she'd be able to navigate Karasu's weaknesses quite easily. She would have to be taken out first.

Kankuro . . . Karasu found herself not even bothering with him. He was easy. Learning from Sasori she had remembered his creations, knew where the traps sprung from and how a master puppet master could manoeuvre them.

She only wondered whether she was facing the real one, or whether he had hidden himself in his puppets.

_If I get rid of those puppets it'll take a few moments for him to collect himself. Then I have to get rid of the sister, and finish off the brother. It'll be as easy as taking sweets from a babe. Just have to wait for one of them to make the first move. _

All of that thinking took a second.

Kankuro whipped out one of his puppets, clearly not taking any chances and bringing Salamander into play. At the exact same moment Temari flew into the hair, hanging over Karasu's head for a few moments.

The moment Kankuro let poison needles flying, Temari helped them along their way by flinging out her fan and summoning wind.

Karasu smiled. She hadn't expected anything else.

She let the needles run right through her. Kankuro and Temari were following it up, closing the distance. For a single moment they hesitated, seeing that the needles ran right through Karasu. She didn't move, she hadn't moved since she'd come here to face them. The little smirk played on her face like an illusion.

They thought she was a badly concealed illusion. In fear and panic they whipped around to the trees and the barren rocks, expecting an attack from behind.

The dark smirk widened as Karasu launched herself at them, at Kankuro. At the Salamander and the crow.

'KANKURO!' Temari screeched, having turned a millisecond after Kankuro.

He turned around, eyes wide and mouth agape, facing a girl with wild hair as black as a raven's wing. Her hand darted out, faster than lightning, and smashed Salamander.

In fear Kankuro jerked backwards, and Karasu whirled around to face Temari who had unleashed her wind on her again. This time it was the sort able to cut forests down to firewood.

Karasu let it pass through her again, and felt the needles and shuriken from Kankuro pass through her. He was well out of the way of the wind.

Once again everything passed through Karasu's body without harming her. She felt their confusion mounting. How could she be a real physical creature, but not be harmed by their attacks.

Temari was the first to realise.

'She can change Kankuro! It's like she can make herself not exist and then be real!' Temari screamed at her brother. He looked up at her with disbelief evident on his face.

'But . . . what do we do?' Kankuro asked bewildered. This was a fight he'd never seen coming.

Karasu didn't allow them any more time. 'You die!' She snarled, vanishing in a cloud of black smoke. At the exact moment she vanished, she appeared again, right behind Kankuro, a poison dipped kunai already in hand.

She thrust it with all the strength from her legs, arms and back muscles right into Kankuro's side, the one that didn't hold the heart.

Temari's scream was ragged and drawn out. She flung herself down towards her brother, intending to do away with the ninja who had brought him down.

Suddenly the ninja appeared beside Temari, black hair streaming out behind her like a dark cloak. Her eyes held a malicious joy in them, and in her hand was a dagger.

Temari flung herself from the ninja, but not in time to save her fan being sliced in half.

The two females landed a safe distance away from each, and quickly stood to face the other. Karasu stood up languidly, stretching her muscles and yawning mockingly. Temari stood with every muscle taught, expecting an attack at any second. Her eyes never left the Akatsuki member, attempting to gauge every move.

'So looks like your brother's out for the count eh?' Karasu called over to Temari, walking closer to the fallen ninja. He was screaming and moaning in pain, the kunai still stuck in his side. The blood wasn't running yet, the weapon blocked the flow. However the poison had entered his system, and it was what was causing him the immense pain evident on his face.

'Stay away from him!' Temari demanded, seeing the enemy come into striking distance of her brother.

'Or what? You'll cut me down?' Karasu teased cruelly, a grin spreading across her face like wildfire. 'I had been expecting more of a fight. Shame really.' She pouted, leaning down to peer closely at Kankuro. He, seeing the Akatsuki above him, spat the blood that had pooled in his mouth at her.

She dodged it without trying.

Quick as a flash, her leg struck Kankuro's injured side, just below his injury. His screams were torn from his throat in a wild howl. Karasu laughed mockingly.

'Don't touch him!' Temari screamed, running at the opponent. Instead of running from where she'd been standing, the clone vanished in white smoke and she ran from the small hiding area below the rocks that she'd found while in the air.

For once a look of surprise spread over Karasu's face as she saw the incoming ninja, anger and hatred clearly written like a book in her eyes.

The hand went back and struck forwards, like a striking snake, and buried itself neatly in Karasu's chest.

Deathly silence filled the air as Karasu glanced down at the protruding kunai, and spurted blood from her mouth.

Temari grinned, panting with exertion and anger, but most of all victory. This hadn't been as hard as she had anticipated.

Akatsuki were meant to be these big, bad ninjas that no one could defeat, and yet here in front of Temari, with a kunai in her chest, stood one of them. One of those who was most probably associated with taking Naruto, changing him, contorting him. Most importantly, she was the Akatsuki who had struck down her brother as if he were nothing but a pestering fly. She was here, dying in Temari's hands, and it sent a thrill through her spine.

'You know . . . you and I . . . we aren't so different.' The Akatsuki woman spoke, her voice soft, menacing, and uncommonly humorous.

'We're nothing alike!' Temari spat, harshly burying the kunai further in the chest. The pain that the woman must have felt didn't even register in those cold, cold eyes.

'Killing me . . . you enjoy it. I can see it . . . it's a thrill. You want this to last. You want to relive this death again . . . and again . . . and again. Just like I want to relive killing your _pathetic _brother.' As she said the last words, the ninja spat blood on Temari's face and grinned, her shining white teeth dully reflecting the sun.

Temari screamed in anger and thrust the kunai out of the ninja's body, letting her fall heavily to the ground. She stared down at the unmoving body, wrapped in the cloak.

'I thought Akatsuki were meant to be difficult to kill. Looks like I was wrong.' She spat, wiping her face and spitting on the body.

With that, she ran to her brother, turning him over and staring at him. He was badly injured, the poison was seeping further into his system, the lightning blue trails snaking its way up the shoulder, to the bone. Soon it would find what is was looking for; the heart. Then everything would be over.

She had to get him back to the Leaf Village, and fast. But what about Gaara, and Naruto? What was happening there?

'It's alright, it's alright Kankuro. I'll get you back, just hold on!' Temari begged, lifting up his uninjured arm and putting it around her shoulder.

'Will you now?' The whisper was so close to Temari's ear that she could feel the hot breath of the speaker tickling the hairs there. She whirled around, knowing full well that her fan was out of reach. She grabbed for the kunai and shuriken, but they weren't there. She was defenceless.

In an instant she felt a hot, spurting moisture drench her clothes. Looking down she noticed a trail of red blood, growing larger and larger with every second. Not just one, but many, perhaps hundreds. So many that the pain was dulled out by all the warnings it was getting. Her hands were useless, her legs wouldn't carry her, and her heart was beating faster and faster.

'Sweet dreams.' The voice whispered again, the speaker once more behind her. Temari wanted to shudder, the love of killing was so clear in that voice it was almost poetic. Unfortunately she had lost the energy to do even that, and instead fell to the floor, backwards, onto her brother's arm.

'How poetic.' Karasu whispered, staring at the two, before smiling wickedly and sauntering off, without a care in the world.

!

'Naruto . . . you are with the Akatsuki?' Gaara asked shocked, horrified even.

'Am I? I hadn't noticed.' Naruto mocked, turning around and peering at his garb with open, innocent eyes. Eyes that never lost their contempt or hatred.

'Naruto . . . we searched for you. You do know that, don't you?' Gaara asked, stepping forwards. He was naïve, instead of seeing an Akatsuki member worthy of fear, he saw an old friend he had been missing, believing to be dead. A friend he had only mourned a few days ago.

'Searched? No. That I don't believe. Celebrated? Yes.' Naruto spoke easily, lazily. This was a ninja he didn't fear, a ninja he had wanted to defeat and bring to the others for such a long time. This was his time, his moment, and nothing Gaara said nor did would stop this from happening.

'No we didn't celebrate! We mourned! There was a tribute to you, there has been for the last three years! Even was there, Sasuke, Kakashi, Sakura, Hinata, Neji . . . the whole village! People that you helped, that you changed because of who you were, who you _are. _Naruto . . . come back. They'll welcome you with open arms.' Gaara was saying so much more than he ever remembered doing. This was so much different than any situation he had ever been in, he felt the words pouring out of his mouth, he unable to stop them. They came, and they were brimming with hopeful honesty, honest hopefulness.

Naruto wasn't listening. He was imaging that night, seeing Kakashi walk away, not even look back at him. He was imagining Kakashi leaving him for dead, he remembered. No one came to him, but out of the night had come two. Deidara and Sasori.

'Mourned?' Naruto's voice had changed, so drastically Gaara reeled back as if he had been slapped. 'You'd never mourn me. The demon child, the one with the Fox inside of him. You all would have been overjoyed at my _death. _Kakashi left me, Sasuke betrayed me, and Sakura only ever saw me as a stupid knucklehead. There was never love, never a _team._' He spat the last word as if it were poison on his tongue.

'Naruto please! You and I are in the same boat, but I'm Hokage of the Sand now! I am proof, you can do what you set out to do! Come back, please.' The last word was whispered, filled with a desperate plea to an old friend.

'No, Gaara. You're going to come with me, or you're going to fight me. What will it be?' Naruto asked, his voice once again having changed. It was the usual calm confidence that would stop most ninja, leading them to believe there was something more to Naruto now. Something that they hadn't anticipated.

'I can't fight an old friend.' Gaara whispered, still believing that Naruto, hearing that, would change his mind.

'Then come with me.'

'I can't do that either.'

'Then you have no choice.' Naruto shrugged indifferently, before slamming chakra into the ground to boost him forwards at a speed which would leave most with whiplash. Gaara's sand only just managed to defend him, coming up so that Naruto's fist gently knocked into Gaara's nose.

Gaara's eyes widened fractionally. That blow hadn't been an all-out attack, it had been a test as to the speed of Gaara's sand, and it had nearly gotten through.

He couldn't hold back, not for this.

There was no sand around their carefully chosen battlefield, Gaara realised that now. There was rock, probably for miles below them. There was course dirt, which sustained only the toughest trees on either side of them. Unless Gaara could somehow manage to crunch the rocks together to form sand, with dodging the coming attacks, he could only rely on that which he had taken with him.

Naruto used the chakra again to slam himself away from Gaara, blue eyes cold and calculating. He didn't leave Gaara for room to think, as he launched himself once more at the red headed boy, this time faster than before, dodging the sand that Gaara used to attempt to block him as if it were in slow motion. He flung his fist at Gaara with all his body weight and the extra momentum he had.

He still held back. His hand knocked Gaara's head, rocking it forwards. Naruto hurried away again, dodging the sand. It was quick, and if he didn't use the chakra on his feet it would certainly get him.

_I can't keep attacking him like that. _Naruto thought, but then again he had never expected to defeat Gaara like that.

Gaara spread his hands. All the sand behind him turned swiftly around him, creating a half shield. It would take a lot to get through that.

It was intuition honed by hours, days, years of rigorous training that allowed Naruto to sense a change in the ground below him. He grimaced. He had given Gaara too much time to grind together sand. From now on, he had to be on the offensive and defensive, to make sure he couldn't make too much.

He swung himself away from the ground on which he stood, preferring not to fly into the air without having a good reason. In the air it was harder to avoid things, than when he was on the ground. Karasu would argue against that, then again . . . she argued against most things that Naruto said.

Where Naruto had previously stood a giant torrent of sand slammed up from the ground, flying over his head as he back-flipped over and over, finally hitting the ground at an angle so he propelled himself towards Gaara. He was defended, the sand swirled around his ankles and took hold.

A quick, violent burst of chakra from that area and the sand was useless, dead, at his feet. Naruto spun into the air, anticipating that the sand would charge after him, and discharged kunai with numerous explosions on them. When the sand came for him seconds later, he applied chakra onto his feet again and used that to run on the sand, flying down to the ground below.

The sand piled around Gaara, like some writhing beast.

'You've improved.' Gaara commented, neither hateful nor impressed. He was empty.

It gave Naruto an immense satisfaction.

'You see now that the Leaf -' Naruto never finished. He applied the chakra to his feet again, and at the same time created one of his rasengan's, without the need of a clone or two hands to control it, and smashed it through the outer layer of sand. His other hand held a rasengan as well, and now he discharged it.

Deidara, master of bombs, had been fascinated with Naruto's rasengan. He had suggested training to make one into a bomb, and with many mouths of practice Naruto had finally made one. Deidara had watched every step of the way, and when he had been away, he'd always ask Naruto when he returned how it was going. It had made Naruto feel so . . . important. Like he was a true member of this team. He couldn't remember feeling that way with the Leaf.

The bomb went off, destroying the sand down to a molecular level. The power of it blasted Gaara away, further away than his sand could reach. It had to regenerate first, become sand once more. Naruto was shielded from the blast by using a cancelling jutsu, one that deflected the type of chakra that had just been discharged. This had been Hidan's idea, after the numerous occasions where Naruto had been blown in the opposite direction of his opponents.

He launched himself at Gaara, who had knocked his head on a stone and fumbling to his feet, one hand held back behind the rest of his body. Once more he used everything he had, this time not holding back.

Gaara's eyes widened as he saw the oncoming attack, and ducked just in time. It didn't slam into his face. It grazed off the cheek, shattering the bone underneath and the rock on which Gaara had been thrown onto.

He grunted extremely loudly in pain, knowing that a wide-mouthed scream would only make matters worse. He swung himself away from Naruto's range, using the sand to propel him to safety. At the same time he brought the sand swirling around him to form a barrier.

Naruto saw this and understood immediately that he wouldn't be able to shatter it without a full frontal assault, and that was nigh impossible with sand charging at him. He stood there, assessing everything with his ice blue eyes.

Gaara stared at Naruto in disbelief, not wanting to acknowledge the change in his friend. His old friend, the one who had brought him back from the darkness, who had taught him what it was like to have love, to be a good person. The person in front of him was completely different. A person filled with hate, rage and anger, all under control and seething under a roof of ice. The change was impossible, for this could be Naruto.

Yet he knew, deep down, that it was. Naruto had changed, had been brainwashed, and this was the ultimate result. A powerful, revenge hungry ninja. This revelation brought a tidal wave of fury forwards, not at Naruto but at the people who had done this to him.

The fury shook the stones, crushing them together to fine dust. Naruto felt the ground underneath him shake, tremble as if in fear. He cursed silently. He shouldn't have let this go on for so long. He had been hoping that he'd be able to enjoy this, but finish him without ever really having to let go.

'Nothing to it then.' He muttered, putting his hands to his side and beginning to form a rasen-shuriken. This one was different, it was filled with his type of chakra, the air. He wasn't going to yet resort to his summoning animal, not yet. It wasn't time.

The sand suddenly burst forth from the ground, like an angry tsunami. Gaara was screaming in his cocoon of sand, fists clenched together and half raised to the sky in anger. Naruto cursed the boy quietly, and screamed _rasen-shuriken, _launching it with his own fury at the sand.

Sand launched towards it, trying to cut it down. It sliced through it all, bringing it down to its molecular structures, disintegrating everything in its path. The more sand Gaara threw at it, the more he lost.

In a last ditch attempt to stop the glowing ball of rotating blue flame, Gaara threw up his ultimate defence. His mother's form, larger than a house, wrapped her arms around her son, burying her head to brace for impact.

Impact it did.

It was ear-shattering, a blast of white light, a fraction of a second of it, enough to warn the Leaf that something amiss was happening. There was a crack, as loud as a thunderclap and then . . . nothing.

All was deathly silent, no birds twittered, the rocks didn't shake, the sand didn't move and the weapon was gone. Naruto stood, barely breathing heavily in his end, one hand held in front of him in case Gaara tried to attack in the gathering dust.

Seconds ticked by where nothing happened, and Naruto began to wonder if he'd killed the freak with no eyebrows.

The dust finally settled after half a minute, and Naruto saw the sand form of Gaara's mother. He cursed at it, wondering why his attack hadn't been able to penetrate.

He was still thinking this when the sand began to crumble. It was slowly at first, a few grains trickling down lifelessly. Then, two more trickled and broke away ten more grains, and from that it all began to collapse in on itself. Everything at once.

Naruto breathed easier as he walked cautiously to where the fallen leader was, lying face down, back turned to Naruto. He was still breathing, which was a relief.

Ungraciously Naruto turned the boy around, and stared at his face. The turquoise eyes were still open, still seeing. He was breathing heavily, clearly in a great deal of pain, his eyes squinting up at the person who he had once known.

'Naruto . . . . . . . why?' Gaara managed to whisper, hands clenching and unclenching by his side in pain. His voice was strong, clear, but the rest of his body didn't seem to be agreeing.

'You left me to die, and now I'm only repaying the favour.' Naruto whispered, leaning down close to Gaara's ear, voice filled with something like evil intent. He brought his fist up and slammed it into Gaara's face, knocking him unconscious.

'That took longer than expected. You've really dipped into those reserves of chakra to get that lost move out.' Karasu's bored voice sounded from further behind Naruto. The blonde boy picked up the body of the fallen and slung it over his shoulder, turning to stare at the raven haired girl with the pretty dark eyes.

'I didn't want to stay around here longer. We're still too close to the Leaf for my liking.' Naruto replied, looking behind him at the village in the distance. He imagined the ninja running as fast as they could to the source of the light, scared out of their wits for reasons they didn't know. 'Have you dealt with the others?' Naruto asked, already knowing the answer. If she hadn't she wouldn't be standing there, for who knows how long already.

She didn't grace his question with an answer. 'Do you want to . . . . stir these Leaf up a bit?' She asked, an evil glimmer in her eyes.

Naruto grinned whole heartedly, remnants of the old Naruto shining through in this one gesture. 'Where do I sign up?'

!

'Miss Sakura, it's probably nothing. We don't have to go this fast.' One of the medical ninja following Sakura and Sasuke's mad dash breathed out, clearly not in his comfort zone at this break-neck speed.

'We don't know what's happened, and the Kazekage and his siblings have only just left. We can't afford to be slow.' Sakura told him, worry clouding her senses. What if they were all dead . . . she couldn't bear to lose old friends again.

She knew a perfect ambush area, just up ahead. An outcropping of rocks, spanning some distance with course dirt and hardy trees on either side. There was not much sand available here, and if anyone was trying to attack the Kazekage this would be the perfect place to do it. If there was nothing there, then she could rest a little easier and slow down the pace.

As soon as she came across the rock outcrop she sensed that something was off, and became thankful for her senses. She rushed ahead, Sasuke silently at her side. One look at his face and she knew that he had the same ominous feeling.

Suddenly she heard something, quiet and a little further off, but distinctly a sound of immense pain and suffering. Her head snapped to Sasuke. His eyes had widened fractionally, indicating he had heard it too.

Without a word they slammed themselves from standing to running, and in a few seconds they saw two limp and lifeless bodies close together. They were familiar, one sandy blonde and the other with dark cat ears. Temari and Kankuro.

She ran to the first, Temari, and saw that she was only injured, not badly. She was alright, her injuries were easy to fix. A few days in the hospital at the most. The other medical ninja, who were close behind her, could handle this one.

Kankuro was the one who had moaned in agonising pain, so far gone that even the smallest movement was something of horror. She carefully ripped open his shirt, and saw something that chilled her. Small tendrils of lightning blue, carefully curling themselves up Kankuro's arm. They were halfway up to his heart, and working painfully and quickly. Each arm had a thousand different branches, roaming over his shoulder and down his chest. His breathing was laboured, his heart was racing like a scared butterfly, and his eyes weren't able to open anymore.

'Oh no.' Sakura whispered, staring at the unknown poison.

'What is it? Can you help him?' Sasuke breathed, presence very close to Sakura. Under normal circumstances this would have sent happy chills running up and down her spine. Unfortunately this was too dire a situation to have those feelings.

'I don't know what it is, but its working fast. I can't treat him here we need to get him back to the village.' Sakura told him. She desperately wanted her mentor to look at him before she did anything. 'Help me lift him Sasuke.' She told him, running over to his chest and sliding her hands underneath his back.

Sasuke didn't move.

'Sasuke I need help and so does Kankuro!' Sakura begged snappishly. She was beginning to panic, to resort to frenzy.

When Sasuke spoke his voice sent chills down her spine. It was so quiet, so unbelieving . . . it was raw. 'Sakura . . . . look.' He whispered. In normal circumstances she would have snapped at him that this wasn't the time for sightseeing, but something in his voice made her stop and pause. She looked up, saw that he was staring into the forest with eyes wider than she'd ever seen them, and looked herself.

What she saw made her breath and her heart stop.

In the shadows was a person, standing there and watching them. He was wrapped in a black cloak with red clouds, and Akatsuki member. Over his shoulder was Gaara, red hair slick with blood. It was neither of these things that caused the reaction, but the person who was staring at them, ice blue eyes filled with scorn and undeniable hatred. His whiskers were nearly invisible, and he had matured. He was handsome, and his blonde hair wasn't as unruly as it had always been.

Naruto.

'Na . . . ruto?' Sakura whispered, rising so slowly from her crouching position. She took one step forward, then another. Sasuke was at her side, staring at the boy. He didn't seem to be in company of anyone else. Was it he who had singlehandedly defeated Gaara, Temari and Kankuro? Was he even capable of causing this much pain to an old friend?

Then Naruto turned his back to them and walked further into the shadows, so that he was invisible.

'NARUTO!' Sakura screamed, running quickly over to where she had last seen him. Sasuke was ahead of her, and they rushed into the forest, the branches and leaves and everything else slapping in their faces. They didn't notice the stinging pain, nor anything else for that matter. They only searched for the person who they had surely seen there.

'NARUTO!' Sasuke screamed, his voice wielding all of the raw emotion and pain. He had suffered for so long. He had thought Naruto dead, because of his selfish actions and this stupid idea of revenge. Now it seemed as if he were alive, with the Akatsuki, but alive.

But the goofy ninja was gone. They were chasing a mirage, the memory of a boy laughing and scratching the back of his head, the image of a boy who would never take no for an answer, the image of a boy they had grown to love unconditionally.

After minutes of running after something that wasn't there, they stopped in the darkness, panting for breath and feeling with every fibre of their being that they hadn't been running after a shadow. They'd been running after something, but somehow it had escaped.

'Naruto . . .' Sakura choked back on her sob. She was hunched over, just as Sasuke was, and her eyes were squeezed tightly shut. She was gritting her teeth, hoping the jolting effect and pain would diminish the tears.

'Perhaps . . . perhaps it wasn't him?' Sasuke gasped hopefully, eyes wide with disbelief as her stared at the forest. Was . . . was the forest darker than before? The shadows seemed longer, darker and thicker like it was an actual, living being. It unnerved Sakura immensely, and she suddenly felt the indescribable need to leave the forest.

Were those dark eyes there, by that tree? Or was it just the leaves?

'Of course it was him! How could it be anyone else?' Sakura snapped without thinking, eyes raking the trees around her. The shadows were moving, she was sure of it. Stretching slowly, so slowly, towards her. Hands reaching out trying to grip the two ninja.

'I'm sorry . . . I'm sorry Sakura it's just . . . we need to get back. Kankuro needs us, and if we have any hope of knowing what happened here it's with him. Let's just . . . head back okay?' Sasuke nearly begged. Sakura looked over at him, ashamed of herself, and saw that he was also uncomfortable with their surroundings.

Straightening she stretched her arms, looking at the last place she was certain she'd seen a wisp of blond.

'Alright.' She whispered. Together they walked away, and the shadows stopped moving.

!

Naruto watched them leave, saw their intuition grow as they realised something about this forest was off.

That something was standing beside him, and he felt a swelling of pride for her, their ninja of darkness. She stared at the couple for several moments after they left, and finally her hold on the forest lightened and released. The birds returned, the small mammals scuttled back, uncertainly raising their heads every few steps.

The shadows brightened to their normal selves.

Karasu turned back to Naruto and looked at the red head. 'It took longer than I expected to be honest.' She told him uninterestingly. Naruto had learned that she'd been watching the entire time, watching and waiting for him to make his ultimate, killer move.

He hadn't, and Karasu had been left disappointed. She hadn't seen it in a battle yet, and she desperately wanted to. Unfortunately, today hadn't been the day. What a shame. She'd expected a Hokage or whatever his blasted name was to provide some entertainment for them.

'I was waiting for him to get into his stride.' Naruto said a little abashed.

'Yeah sure sure. You knew you may have been in trouble had he turned everything completely to sand.' Karasu chortled, before striking off for their base. 'Come on idiot. The others are waiting for the ritual to begin.'

Naruto grinned evilly, his blue eyes as bright as an inner flame. They sparkled and crackled. 'Let's not disappoint, and afterwards I'm going to have some fun.' He grinned, turning around for one last look at the retreating forms.

Then he laughed. A full, deep throated laugh that began in his stomach and rose to his chest and throat. Karasu, walking just ahead of him, smirked at the sound.

_Oh yes . . . fun. _

_**Author's Note **_

_To all those readers who have favourited and followed me and this story, thank you so much for your support. I'm so happy that all the reviews have been glowing, but also don't be afraid if you think something's off to tell me. I want to improve as a writer, and your input is really important. Once again, thank you for all the awesome feedback.  
A question has been raised as the meaning of _fun _in the end of this chapter, even suggesting that it meant Karasu and Naruto were in a relationship where they had sex. I just want to quickly dispel these thoughts. Karasu and Naruto do _not _have sex. The meaning of fun in this is that they're anticipating that through annoying, creating conflict between Sakura and Sasuke, making them hurt and eventually fighting them and they know it's going to be enjoyable for them.  
Once again, in no respects are Karasu and Naruto having such an intimate relationship.  
Yours Sincerely  
\- Charandia _


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six **

Karasu's hand slammed out and hit Naruto square in the chest. The wind was knocked squarely out of him and released with an 'OOF', leaving his thoroughly winded.

When the breath returned to him in wheezing puffs he managed to gasp 'What the _hell _was that for?' To the now still as a statue ninja beside him. She didn't move or even register his question, her eyes were trained on a single area ahead of them. This instantly alerted Naruto and he stayed in his hunched position, silently willing the trees to thicken to hide them better.

If Karasu was like this, it meant that no one should move until she knew more.

After several minutes which seemed to take forever, Karasu motioned up and jumped, landing on the lowest tree branch and continuing until she was a fair distance up. Naruto joined her and as soon as they landed and settled, lowered his Chakra significantly. Now if he was detected, he would appear to be only a little bug. Karasu was much better at this, she had taught Naruto and everyone else in the Akatsuki the same technique. At the moment, Karasu didn't even exist.

For an added affect Karasu changed into a crow and looked harshly at Naruto. He held his hands up and watched her fly away.

He waited there for ten minutes. He didn't dare move, he wasn't sure what Karasu had sensed. She may have sensed someone belonging to the Anbu, or just some little newbie ninja. Whatever it was, it had alarmed her enough to take Naruto to shelter and then fly away in the form of a small, harmless animal to investigate.

Whatever it was, Naruto refused to move or even breathe too loudly until his partner returned.

When she did she fluttered into her human form again, eyes a bright crystal blue. Her raven hair fluttered around her face, framing it beautifully. She looked excited, and Naruto felt his heart begin beating faster.

'What is it?' Naruto whispered, leaning forward with eyes wide with his excitement. Karasu grinned back, flashing her sharp teeth. He noticed that her eyes were slowly changing to the solid black that meant she was either angry, or ready for a fight.

'It's another team that I think you may be familiar with.' Karasu whispered with a low growl. That was her excitement showing through.

'Stop being mysterious tell me!' Naruto demanded in an aggravated tone. Gaara's dead weight wasn't helping his mood, especially since Karasu refused to carry him claiming it would hinder her scout's abilities.

'It's Team Kuerway or whatever her name is. It's the dude with the bugs and the other with the dog. Also that pathetic excuse for a ninja.' Karasu whispered. Her eyes were now nearly their pitch black.

He nearly jumped for joy. It didn't matter that Karasu couldn't remember the name, her description was spot on. It was Team Kurenai.

'Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant Karasu! Let's get to work, shall we?' He asked, slowly rising to his feet and scanning the forest around him. He was certain that they'd be traveling in the trees. Akamaru was perfectly capable of leaping through the trees, and they'd always felt that method safer. Naruto quickly decided on what to do. 'Where are they?'

'Over there, five minutes away.' Karasu pointed to a position that was behind them and to the right.

'Brilliant. Hang this up, give it to me on my command.' Naruto said, ungraciously dropping Gaara on the large tree branch they were standing on and taking off his Akatsuki cloak. Karasu looked on disapprovingly.

'You're going to trick them.' She stated monotonously. She caught the cloak that was flung at her and slung it over her shoulder.

'It's a perfect opportunity. Aren't you always the one that says _"Take every opportunity that promises fun"_?' Naruto asked, taking something from his belt. It was his old headband, a long scar running through the leaf insignia. He grabbed a gritty silver substance from a pouch and rubbed it into the scar, smoothing it down and flicking off any excess before filling in the gaps in the insignia.

'It looks rough.' Karasu criticised.

'I can't do any better.' Naruto said, sliding the headband over his head and letting it hang around his neck. He lifted his black shirts sleeve up and slit a small cut and begun rubbing it in his hair and over his face and neck. He then gave another slit and doubled the layer before wiping a kunai on it, broke the weapon and smeared his fingers in the blood.

'Let's go.' Karasu whispered, jumping down to the floor. She saw a small clearing and quickly made it appear as if I small fight had ensued. Naruto dropped beside her, checking the surrounding area for any sign of the team. They didn't have much longer left. 'I'd say forgive me, but I don't care.' Karasu said and before Naruto could react, she tore at his clothing with her kunai. A potent poison on the blade made the blood congeal so it appeared to have been done some time back.

'That hurt.' Naruto spoke in such a way that it seemed clear it hadn't. He had been trained to notice serious injuries, or those that could slow him down. These wounds were not of that sort.

'You'll also need this.' Karasu said, eyes perking. She heard the rustling of trees and knew she only had seconds. Without waiting for his confirmation she whacked him over the head, hard enough to stun for a minute but not enough to seriously damage. Naruto, who had been expecting that much from his 'loyal' partner, let this happen. He fell like a sack of potatoes, heavy body breaking the shrubs underneath him.

Before anything else happened Karasu wrapped herself in shadow, seemingly disintegrating into the darkness. Her Chakra level dropped immediately, and she seemed to no longer exist.

Team Kurenai weren't long in the waiting. Naruto was coming to when he heard them very close, and immediately he went limp, eyes fluttering closed.

!

Hinata had been torn for three years. Three years without watching the blonde haired ninja from a distance, then becoming someone he considered a friend. Fighting alongside him had been ever better, watching him grow had been a marvellous experience.

Then he died.

Every day Hinata wished that she could go back in time, go with Kakashi and carry Naruto back herself. She owed him so much, friendship and courage. To this day she still owed him so much, and she hadn't even been able to save him. That one little thing she could have done, she didn't.

She choked back a sob and rested on a branch for a moment. Kiba and Shino waited for her. They too felt his absence. Not in the same way as Hinata, that was clear, but they felt a Naruto shaped hole in their lives and it was never filled.

'Hinata, we need to go.' Kiba spoke gently, shaking her shoulder as lightly as he could. Hinata squared her shoulders and wiped her eyes and nose before standing up, shakily. Her knees shook before she took a deep breath and set her eyes straight ahead. The anniversary shook them all for several days after.

'We weren't there Kiba. We couldn't . . . we weren't there.' Hinata whispered sadly, eyes staring at Kiba. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Shino said nothing, standing a branch away with Akamaru next to him.

'I know. We can visit him as soon as we get back, I swear.' Kiba promised. He had always intended to do so and leave a bouquet of flowers at the gravestone. It was one of the largest there was, with the sleeping nine tailed fox above wrapped Naruto in its warm embrace. It was odd, but the Hokage had insisted that people remember him like that, as a boy who had something evil inside of him, but continued to smile and bring joy throughout his life. The statue of him was smiling with closed eyes, and the nine tails was also smiling. The Hokage said that Naruto had probably tamed the fox inside of him, and that was why he was smiling as well.

Everyone had accepted that, and everyone had remembered him like that. Kiba too believed that Naruto had perhaps made friends with the fox before his death.

"Wherever he is, he's at peace." Kiba remembered Kakashi whispering on the day of Naruto's funeral, when it had rained for the whole day and the entire village had turned out. Unfortunately the river had never given up his body, and everyone had lost hope.

'Alright. Thank you . . . Kiba.' Hinata whispered, gently patting his shoulder and leaping to the branch where Shino was. He gave her a swift pat as well and they set off again when Kiba was sitting atop Akamaru.

They set off again. Hinata saw a large crow wheeling close to them, eyes fixated on them before flying off into the distance. 'Probably just protecting its nest.' Shino told Hinata, seeing her staring at where the crow had been moments before.

'It was a pretty large crow. Beautiful, I think.' Hinata commented. In the Village such crows weren't seen often. The wild ones must be larger than the others, she thought.

They travelled for another seven minutes before they came across something almost unbelievable. At first they saw roughened terrain and slowed down immediately. If there had been a fight the attackers might still be close, and they had to tread carefully.

They looked all around the clearing, slowly and carefully. Akamaru didn't smell anything unusual, though his actions became more and more excited and worried and whingey. At one stage Kiba had to stop walking and look down at Akamaru, demanding an explanation.

'Is Akamaru alright?' Shino asked, conversing with one of his beetles at the same time. Kiba frowned at his companion and shook his head unknowingly.

'I don't know. He's acting off.' He placed his hands on his hips and drummed his fingertips on his hip bones, staring at his companion completely clueless as to his behaviour.

Akamaru jumped forwards and stood beside a pile of trampled and crushed shrubs. 'He's found something?' Hinata questioned shyly, incredibly curious and scared. She had never truly overcome her fears and shyness. She was still that girl from three years ago, she was sure.

'Akamaru what is . . . oh shit. HINATA! SHINO! COME HERE!' Kiba suddenly screamed, lunging down and tugging at a body, turning it this way and that. Hinata saw black cloth, torn and bloodied. She hastened and almost instantly saw what had been the commotion.

'Is that . . . it can't be . . .' Hinata whispered, trembling all over. She felt an overwhelming rush of relief, disbelief and shock. So many more emotions that she couldn't pick out flooded over her, overwhelming each and every single one of her senses so that she fell to her knees and stared at the young man lying in pools of congealed blood. She began to laugh, and cry all at the same time, shoulders shaking harshly.

'Oh God . . . it's _Naruto_!' Shino gasped, dropping to his knees and pulling the injured boy from Kiba's grasp. He still wore his Konoha Headband, it was hanging around his neck. It looked scratched, but then again he'd been a rogue for three years. It was a miracle he was still alive.

Shino wrenched Kiba's shaking hands from Naruto and he quickly looked him over. He was by no means an expert, but since Hinata and Kiba seemed to be incapable of doing anything, he decided he had to do something.

He stretched out a hand and found it was shaking. He formed a quick fist and bit it, hoping that that would calm his nerves. His heart was nearly beating out of his chest.

He touched the boy who looked so much like Naruto and turned him on his back. If he started to choke he'd put him in on side again, but for now he wanted to look at the face. Faint whiskers on his cheeks, bright yellow hair that was spiked. It had to be him. It was. Naruto wasn't dead, he was alive!

Quickly Shino checked the injuries. It looked brutal, but not deadly. Whatever had happened he'd only been cut and then knocked out, probably happened a few hours ago according to how the blood was acting. He was just knocked out, harshly and perhaps thought of as dead, but he wasn't in harm's way.

'It's alright. He's just knocked out and beaten up.' Shino informed the others, breathing a sigh of relief. They weren't about to lose him again.

'It's Naruto, isn't it? That's Naruto . . . he's _alive_.' Hinata whispered, crawling over to the body and lifting the head onto her lap. She stared down at him, memorising everything she could. The feel of his pulse, beating strongly and his soft breathing. His soft skin and silk-like hair. He had grown so much, his body was hardened, tougher than before and the laugh lines that had once been so prominent were all but gone. He looked serious and stern, but then again he'd been living as a rogue for three years. Hinata wondered how he had come back from the dead like he had. According to Kakashi there was no way he could have survived without outside help.

Had he had outside help?

'Oh man . . . it's _him_.' Kiba breathed, 'And he's been fighting.' He looked at the Kunai in Naruto's grasp. It was covered in blood.

'Sometimes it's necessary.' Hinata defended weakly. Kiba said nothing, instead poked Naruto's limp body.

'We can't stay here. We need to take Naruto back to the village he's been through a lot.' Kiba said, staring at the body and wondering how to move it.

At that moment the tiniest groan escaped Naruto's lips, and his closed eyes fluttered. Hinata gasped and dropped his head. Luckily the ground was soft with specks of moss dotted around, so it did no further damage. However it pushed a louder groan from him, and his breathing became louder.

His eyes fluttered slowly open, and any hesitation in who it was, was instantly discarded. His eyes were a bright blue, the same blue that Hinata dreamed of.

His eyes closed again and he groaned once more, arms shaking and grasping the other as if he were hugging himself. He opened his eyes again, this time the pupils moving to focus in on the swirling faces above him.

'What?' He croaked hoarsely. Hinata began to laugh and cry again, and Kiba buried his face in Akamaru's fur. Shino didn't move, only stared at the young ninja wondering how he had survived everything and not come back to the Leaf. Not come home.

'Naruto are you alright?' Kiba asked, lifting his face from Akamaru's fur. Naruto stared at everyone, confused and baffled.

'Who . . .' Naruto whispered, before shakily lifting himself into a sitting position. He was hunched over with his arms resting lazily in his lap. He stared at everyone and winced, some pain hindering him.

'Naruto it's me! Kiba!' Kiba rushed forwards and knelt before Naruto, staring intently into his eyes as if trying to communicate like that.

'Kiba . . .' Naruto whispered, looking down at his hands. 'Aka . . . Akamaru?' He whispered, looking up into Kiba's eyes and narrowing his.

Kiba laughed breathlessly for joy, and so did Hinata. 'Yes! Yes that's right! This is Akamaru!' Kiba motioned for the dog to come forwards, and he did so slowly, tail low to the ground and wagging slowly back and forth.

'Akamaru . . . he's grown.' Naruto whispered with a tired little grin. His eyes were drooping shut before he snapped them open again, furiously intent on staying awake.

'Has he? I haven't noticed.' Kiba looked at his partner with admiration.

'Naruto do you remember me?' Hinata asked, rushing forwards to crouch next to Kiba. Naruto squinted his eyes at her before nodding slowly.

'Hinata . . . right? And Shino.' Naruto remembered. Hinata laughed again and refrained from hugging him.

'Yes! I'm Hinata, and that's Shino! Naruto . . . what happened to you?' Hinata asked, getting straight to the point that was bothering everyone.

Silence prevailed, even Shino took the time to look interested. Naruto seemed to be fumbling for words, his mind slowly coming back to him. 'Well . . . where do I begin? So much . . . so much.' Naruto whispered the last two words, lifting one hand up to rub gently at a spot on his head where they all assumed him to have been hit.

'Don't worry, you can tell everyone once you're better.' Kiba quickly assured him.

'Everyone?' Naruto looked up and around as if expecting the village to magically appear around him. Kiba and Hinata laughed loudly.

Shino stayed silent. He was watching Naruto carefully, he wasn't sure why either. His bugs were uncomfortable, they didn't want to be there. Whether it was the area or Naruto, Shino wasn't sure. He looked around the clearing again, looking for any sign of anything peculiar. There wasn't any blood spattered around the clearing. In a fight like the one Naruto had, there would have had to be blood where the other shrubs were crushed. It only looked like someone had trampled the whole place and then thrown Naruto where he lay now.

There was a dark shadow next to them. It looked like a normal shadow from a tree, no human form inside it. Only difference was this one was much darker. His bugs couldn't detect any Chakra.

Naruto watched Shino and knew that his mind was seeing things that didn't quite add up.

'Shino?' Naruto asked. Shino turned to look at his old friend. There was no way that that couldn't be Naruto. No matter what else might be going on, Shino was certain that this wasn't an illusion or a shadow clone made to look like Naruto.

'Naruto.' Shino nodded.

'Shino I'm . . .' Naruto coughed. Shino crept forwards so that his knee was nearly touching Naruto. 'Shino I'm . . . sorry.' Naruto whispered. The last word was completely different from the tone that the ninja had been using before. This word was dripping in hatred and contempt. The change was so quick and so shocking Shino didn't know how to react, his mind fumbled with everything, because the Naruto he knew would never hurt a friend. Someone so good and innocent would never have been able to change so much.

It was only a millisecond difference. If Shino had acted immediately, he would've been able to fight, stand a better chance than he did.

Naruto thrust himself forwards, Kunai in his hand once again becoming the deadly weapon. It sheared through Shino's skin and tissue like a hot knife through butter, thrusting up into his chest. Naruto missed the heart on purpose.

Discarding the knife Naruto leapt back, away from Shino's bugs. Hinata screamed in horror, Kiba launched forwards to grab Naruto. He was about to reach out and touch him when something from behind coiled around every limb and fastened. Strings, usually used for fishing, and on the ends were Kunai. They jolted him back and brought him crashing to the ground, giving him thousands of tiny cuts all over his body. Akamaru barked angrily and flung himself at the shadow that had appeared, but it disappeared underneath his paws. Then it was suddenly standing on his back and he snapped up, jaws clasping around nothing. Kiba stood on his two feet shakily and set off to help his partner, but he never arrived. Two Kunai sheared through his ankles, stopping him in his tracks and preventing him from putting any pressure on his legs.

He screamed out in pain and fear, turning around as quickly as he could to see Naruto standing over him. Naruto smiled grimly, his eyes suddenly turning from their innocent selves to ones of pure hatred and anger.

The wires coiled themselves around his body again, holding him to the ground. He tried to fight, tried to bring his hands together to use some signs, but they didn't move. He heard Akamaru give a frightened yelp and then another, the second filled with pain. He felt the body of his partner hit the ground heavily, he heard Hinata screamed.

Naruto leaned forwards and stared at Kiba. The Konoha ninja couldn't look away from those blue orbs, so close up and swirling with the fury that was just below the surface. 'Naruto?' Kiba croaked fearfully, uncertainly.

'You left me for _dead_. Now you suffer the same fate.' Naruto hissed in his ear, so quiet Kiba could have missed it. He didn't, however, miss the words that dripped with hatred. It was so frightening Kiba began to shiver.

Naruto stood up again, and the other assailant walked over to him. She was beautiful, but as cold as ice. Her eyes were black shards, and she wore the familiar black cloak with red clouds. She handed one to Naruto and he put it on with a flourish. The girl vanished in a puff of black cloud.

Naruto walked over to Hinata, who quickly stood up and moved into her gentle fist stance. Kiba saw that there was no possibility of her defeating the yellow ninja. He walked with an air of confidence that had never been there before, calm and completely in control.

Hinata tried to attack, but he caught every single one of her attempts and deflected them with an air of boredom. Hinata sprung back and stared at Naruto.

'Naruto what are you doing? Why are you doing this?' Hinata cried, eyes changing so she could see his Chakra.

'Oh Hinata, you always were a daft imbecile.' Naruto spoke gently and calmly, his voice soothing. Hinata lowered her hands, her eyes returning to normal and brimming with hurt.

'Naruto . . .' She whispered, trying desperately to hold back her tears. Naruto flew forwards, a kunai in his grasp. Hinata saw it coming, tried to deflect it but wasn't prepared for the lightning fast kunai that came from her other side. She cried out, and Naruto pierced the other in the other side. She now had two sticking out just below her ribs, the blood seeping out. Naruto hit her harshly on the head, stunning her but not knocking her out. Hinata fell to the floor, hair fanning out around her as she lay stunned.

The female ninja came back, this time carrying Gaara. Kiba fought even harder against his restraints. The more he fought, the deeper the strings cut. They weren't budging, weren't allowing him to move a finger.

He now realised how bad the situation was. Gaara was beaten and bloodied, truly this time. He was hanging limply and carelessly over Naruto's shoulder. He turned to leap up into the trees and away when Kiba suddenly screamed his name. The sound tore from his throat, ripping through everything like a sound wave. The birds overhead fluttered away.

Naruto turned to look, and that was when Kiba realised there was no hope. His eyes showed the difference three years had made.

Kiba could only stare as the ninja he had once called a friend jumped away, Akatsuki cloak fluttering out behind him.

Kiba sobbed and tried to look over his shoulder. He could just make out Akamaru's form, and it was rising and falling. His buddy wasn't dead, he had been left alive.

They all had, but badly wounded. Even Kiba. If left like this for too long, he knew they'd all be dead soon. 'Oh God, someone please help us.' Kiba whispered, a single tear sliding from his eye and down his cheek.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven **

'Hokage _please _listen to me! Hokage! TSUNADE!' Kurenai screamed, worry etching every syllable. She had been frantic for most of the day, and the sudden disappearance of her team hadn't helped. She ran after the Hokage as she walked to the graveyard, a large bouquet of flowers in her grasp and a pot of ramen from the ramen store in the other.

'What is it Kurenai?' Tsunade asked, not stopping her quick walk. The skies overhead were grumbling, the fresh scents of forest and food fading as the smell of fresh rain overtook it. She didn't have long.

'It's my team, they're not back yet and they should have been back long ago! It was a small mission; I request your permission to leave to look for them. _Please_.' Kurenai begged, nearly thinking about falling to her knees. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she felt that setting off before the rain hit was going to be for the better.

Tsunade stopped and turned to look at the kunoichi before her. She was about to open her mouth to deny the request when Kakashi stepped lazily up. At this time of the year he became lazier, no one ever saw him and no one tried. He knew it was partly his fault that Naruto was dead, yet no one blamed him. Tsunade knew he wished they did. Anger was always better than sadness.

'Hokage, let me accompany Kurenai in retrieval of her team. I am certain that they are safe and well, but it is important for her to make sure. Allow her this.' Kakashi's voice was even and laid back, yet Tsunade detected a hint of pain. Kurenai's pain was reminding him of his own, and he knew the consequences of not acting on gut feeling.

With a sigh Tsunade relented. 'Of course you may go, but together.' She added sternly, eyeing the two of them. They nodded and thanked her before vanishing.

Tsunade sighed and turned around again, adjusting her grasp on the flowers and ramen. At the cemetery she passed her brother and her lover, both of them had died with that necklace. Naruto had died as well, if only she hadn't given it to him! Maybe then he would still be alive . . .

Tsunade fell shamelessly to her knees and wept, clutching the flowers to her chest as if they were a substitute for the cheery, yellow haired ninja. 'Oh Naruto . . . I'm so _sorry. _Please . . . please forgive me.' She wept.

!

Kakashi and Kurenai made it past the gate easily, waving their hellos to the two poor souls stuck at the entrance. Kurenai didn't want to lag so she forced Kakashi into a fast run down the path. Apparently they would have veered off some way down the road, so for the moment it was most sensible to stick to the path.

As they ran they saw some figures ahead, a lot of them and running quickly as well. The closer the two groups became, the easier it was to identify everyone. It became clear that they were running towards Sasuke and Sakura and their ninja and medical ninja. They were carrying two limp bodies.

Kakashi and Kurenai slowed to watch them pass. They didn't slow, Kakashi saw Sakura commanding the medical ninja in treating one of the limp bodies. When they passed it seemed almost slow motion for that instant. The two ninja were Temari and Kankuro and shockingly they were without their brother. This revelation sent Kakashi's stomach dropping down several floors.

They were also clearly injured.

'Kakashi senpai.' Sasuke greeted quickly and politely. Kakashi nodded for his student to continue. 'Sakura felt as if something was off and we investigated. Gaara is missing, we do not know where he is. Temari is injured but will heal in a few days but Kankuro has been poisoned by a deadly and fast acting poison, its origins Sakura is unsure of. We don't know if we can save him. Sakura . . . doesn't know.' Sasuke nearly whispered the last part.

Kakashi nodded in understanding. It was difficult for the young ninja to freely admit that someone he looked up to might not be able to save yet another life. Everyone else Sakura had helped had survived, but this one time . . . who knew.

'And . . .' Sasuke hesitated and Kakashi saw that there was something else, perhaps something bigger, than the poison. He nodded for his student to go on. 'We . . . saw a ninja in the woods. Maybe the one that attacked the escort but . . . it looked like . . . Naruto.' Sasuke whispered the last words, so quietly that Kakashi nearly missed it.

He leaned forwards, eye widening at the name. 'W . . . what?' He asked stammering.

'Naruto . . . the ninja looked like Naruto.' Sasuke whispered, eyes staring intensely at his shoes and clasping his hands together in front of him.

Kakashi didn't speak for several moments. He only stared at his student with wide eyes and what seemed like a slack jaw. He only managed to right himself to a half comprehensible human when Kurenai gently placed a hand on his shoulder. He shook his head angrily. 'That's impossible. Naruto is dead. There's a ninja disguising himself as Naruto and he's attacking those close to him. He needs to be found and stopped, is that _clear?_' Kakashi hissed.

Sasuke nodded meekly.

'Tell the Hokage. Tell her to start a search for the ninja _immediately. _We find him, we find Gaara. I want everyone capable on the task. I'll be leading a search party as soon as I return and I expect you on it.' Kakashi added, becoming angrier and angrier as the words fell from his mouth.

Someone out there was posing as Konahakagure's fallen hero, and for that he'd show no mercy.

'Come Kurenai.' Kakashi's voice was angry, angrier than Kurenai could remember. She had to use Chakra to catch up with Kakashi, his departure was so sudden.

'It's not Sasuke's fault.' Kurenai tried to reason with Kakashi. She couldn't even comprehend the pain that he must be feeling.

Kakashi stayed silent, glaring ahead and veering off the path in the direction that the team must have followed.

Kurenai sighed tiredly and focused her attention on how her team was doing. She hoped they were alright, and that all her fears were just paranoia.

They ran for nearly two hours before coming across the team. Kakashi hadn't spoken a word and was jumping from tree branch to tree branch. Sometimes he'd be going so fast that a tree branch would whip back and hit Kurenai in the face, luckily these were only small ones.

He was going so fast and expecting to see the team running at them that he nearly missed their almost limp bodies. It was Kurenai who saw them and cried out, nearly falling off her tree branch. She didn't know what she had expecting at that moment, but she'd been hoping it wasn't what she saw.

She dropped down and Kakashi came down next to her seconds after. She quickly took stock of the situation, and it was no less horrid than when she had seen it from above.

Kiba was lying tangled in shining fishing wire, kunai stabbed into the ground to hold him there. Blood was running along the wires, cutting into his flesh. One was frighteningly close to cutting off his air supply.

Akamaru was right behind his own, silent as the grave and as still as a statue. He was wounded, his legs all looked broken and blood had run into his eyes and crusted over them. His breathing seemed laboured, so Kurenai was suspicious that there were deeper injuries.

Hinata and Shino were both unconscious. Shino's bugs were scuttling about him in a frenzy, their noise almost unbearable. Something was wrong with him, internally. Hinata was simply unconscious, a heavy blow to the head. Whoever had done this, it seemed that the boys had fought harder, Kiba especially.

Kurenai raced to Kiba's side, Kakashi didn't have to be told to summon his dogs. They came and immediately raced over to Akamaru, whimpering and worrying over one of their own kind. Kurenai tried cutting the string, but it was almost like steel. It wouldn't budge.

She then looked to the kunai buried deep in the ground and started to dislodged them, being careful not to make them tighter. It was a long process, they were they had been lodged was terrifying, especially since it would have had to happen at a rapid pace. It was so intricate that any false move and she was worried she'd slice Kiba in half.

He awoke halfway through and looked at his mentor, asking her how the others were. She replied as evenly and honestly as she could, not wanting to upset him or lie to him. At the mention of Akamaru, who had vanished with Kakashi's dogs to return to the village, he nearly cried but was thankful that his friend was safe.

'Kiba, who did this?' Kurenai asked pleadingly, staring at the net of string across his body. His neck and chest was safe, his stomach would have to come next. It was all so terrifying.

Kiba's inhaled deeply and his hands began to tremble. 'It was . . . Naruto.' He whispered, the last word almost soundless.

Kurenai's hands stopped moving and her head snapped up to Kakashi. He was as still as Akamaru had been, staring at Kiba with his one eye wide and disbelieving.

'No. It was an imposter. Naruto is dead.' Kakashi said blankly. The denial was shining in his eyes.

Kurenai looked down to her student, eyes questioning and begging for him to explain at least a little more. Kiba looked sorry, so sorry to be telling this atrocious news to Kakashi of all people. 'He was in . . . an . . . Akatuski cloak . . . with a girl. She did this . . . she helped him they were Akatsuki. They . . . they laid a trap . . . for us. We fell . . . into it. It was Naruto.' Kiba finished breathless. He closed his eyes and let his head sink back down onto the soft ground.

Kakashi looked around him like a lost child, his eye was nearly in tears. 'No . . . no he's delusional! It was an imposter!' Kakashi nearly screamed the last sentence. He quickly made a shadow clone and the two of them grabbed Shino and Hinata. Shino's bugs scrambled after their unconscious master. 'Naruto is _dead _I saw him dying! I know he's dead there's a memorial in the village! NARUTO IS DEAD!' This time Kakashi definitely screamed, voice cracking and breaking but never losing its intensity.

Kurenai flinched, about to yell back at him but then stopped. She let him walk away as she continued with Kiba. She didn't know Kakashi's pain, this wasn't fair on him. She didn't know his guilt, she didn't know anything. He was acting childishly, but Kurenai couldn't say anything because she didn't know how it felt.

She just hoped it stayed that way.

!

It was odd, the contrast and how it should be so much different, but the quaint little hospital in the Village was abuzz with shouting and screams and moans. It was positively bustling with life, and Kakashi could do nothing but stand in the furthest shadow and brood over what he had heard.

He was in complete denial.

He had seen Naruto die. No. He had seen him _dying _which was even worse. He had left Naruto only minutes from death, of that he was sure. Unless someone had come in and intervened, which he thought highly unlikely, Naruto had died. So the person who was attacking officials and teams was using Naruto's features to make it even worse.

Kakashi's fist curled up into a ball as he thought of someone making a shamble of his student's memory like that. He could never think of Naruto in the past tense, he was always his student or his friend.

He began to watch Sakura as she worked. She was very efficient, but clearly panicked. Kankuro was groaning and moaning, and as each minute passed he became quieter and quieter. Tsunade was also in a panic, for once seeming to care about something other than moping and drinking. The two ladies were using all of their training and Chakra ability to prevent the young ninja from dying.

Temari was alright, and so was Hinata. They were coming to, slowly but surely. Temari was definitely looking the worse for wear, Hinata was mainly bruised and had a lump on her head. She was looking around with forlorn eyes, looking as hopelessly lost as Kakashi.

He began to feel sorry for her. She had loved Naruto, and now this cruel play by the Akatsuki was making the memories come back. He wondered if she had also fallen for it.

Kiba had been brutalised, as the strings had come off they had taken the congealed blood and made extra cuts inside the cuts. He was in immense pain, and the medical ninja thought that some of his bones had also been cut. The string was currently being analysed.

Akamaru was in the care of Tsume and Hana, the two had let nothing be known except that they were certain Akamaru would survive.

Shino had been injured internally, he was bleeding and a slow poison used to stun was circulating. The dosage was high, so everyone was unsure if he'd go into a coma or come out.

Kankuro, however, was dying and currently there was nothing that Sakura or Tsunade were doing that was helping him. Kakashi's small light of hope was slowly dwindling away as the minutes passed, and as they did he felt more anger burning towards the imposter and the girl who seemed to have raven hair. In fact, he was going to capture all of the Akatsuki no matter what. None deserved to live after these attacks.

_Gaara. What are they doing with Gaara? Do they want power, or the beast inside? _A tiny voice whispered. The voice was right. That was the question. They had to compile a team and head off immediately, following the already weak trail the Akatsuki had left. They had to get Gaara back home safe and sound.

'Kakashi Sensei!' Someone shouted. It was Sasuke. He came running in the already crowded room and stopped in front of his mentor. His eyes were wide and he was holding up a map in excitement. A large 'X' marked a spot just on the edge of a forest, between the Sand and the Leaf.

'What is this?' Kakashi asked, his interest peaking. Sasuke grinned, looking mighty pleased with himself. Kakashi's heart twinged. Here was Sasuke, doing exactly what Kakashi should be doing instead of standing around and moping.

'Sensei, I have some witnesses who swear that this is where they saw the two Akatsuki members in question. They were carrying a person who they think has red hair, and he wasn't moving. One Akatsuki had black hair, the other had blonde. They were heading in this direction.' Sasuke pointed to a dotted trail that led to a group of high cliffs and hills, just sitting in the middle of nowhere.

Kakashi's heart soared. 'This could be the secret hideout of the Akatsuki.' He whispered, eye shining. Sasuke grinned and nodded enthusiastically.

'That's what I was thinking, Sensei.' Sasuke seemed immensely proud, and Kakashi nodded in praise. At the moment, that was almost like receiving three cheers. Sasuke's beam brightened.

'We need a team, of the best and most enthusiastic. Who is available right now?' Kakashi asked, mind swirling over the thoughts. Team Kurenai was definitely not available, Shikamaru was busy and so were Choji and Ino.

That left one team that Kakashi really didn't want to think about. Team Gai. They were brilliant, clearly enthusiastic and strong as well as fast. They needed that, and they were available. Kakashi looked out over the injured ninja and sighed, running a hand through his silver hair.

'We need Gai's team.' He mumbled. Sasuke didn't question, he never questioned his Sensei. He thought he had lost that right after running away for Orochimaru.

'I'll get them assembled Sensei.' Sasuke bowed respectfully and then ran off, searching for the team. Kakashi's attention turned back to the scene before him. Sakura was even more panicked, sweat was running down her cheeks and face like a rain shower. Tsunade was no better off. Temari was crying hysterically, trying to calm herself. She was by Kankuro's side, and he was speaking. Softly and calmly, and his words were making Temari cry even harder.

He was saying goodbye. Such a sweet sentiment, but so painful. Kakashi wondered what Naruto would have said if he had gotten that chance, before Kakashi had betrayed him.

Suddenly Sakura screamed in triumph and began directing the others in a strange, strangled mess of words. Luckily everyone but Kakashi seemed to able to understand her, and Kakashi's view was blocked of the dying ninja by everyone running around him and jostling. Sakura yelled at them to give her space, and it was like the waters parted and she was left alone. She smiled grimly and worked, hands moving so fast they were a blur.

Kakashi smiled grimly at Temari's evident relief and hope. So apparently Kankuro wasn't going to die. Sakura must be pleased with herself, and who knew what Tsunade felt.

With a small sigh of resignation Kakashi strode out from the hospital, determined to wait for the news outside.

!

Hours later Sakura emerged, clothes saturated in sweat and looking like she'd just battled the first Hokage on her own. She grinned tiredly at her mentor and nodded her head gently. She tried to speak but seemed unable to do so.

Kakashi held up a hand before she tried again, gently swaying his head as a shake. 'No need. He's alive. If he wasn't you'd be here crying and in shock, and I would be able to hear Temari's wails. Good job.' He whispered the compliment, gently laying a hand on Sakura's shoulder. She smiled tiredly and nodded her thanks. 'You deserve some rest. We're leaving as soon you're healthy. We need to catch Gaara and those who took him as soon as possible.'

Sakura nodded, the small fire in her eyes growing a tad stronger at the words. She too felt anger towards the Akatsuki. She was uncertain whether the Naruto character was actually him, or an imposter. But she desperately wanted to find out and set her heart to rest.

'We'll go too.' The shaky voice behind them could only belong to one person, and Kakashi honestly hadn't expected anything else. He turned and saw Temari, looking worse for wear, but her mouth was set in a grim, determined line. 'Naruto attacked us.' She whispered. Kakashi was about to interject forcefully but Temari beat him to it. 'It _was _him. You weren't there and you didn't see a dead Naruto. Something happened and now he's kidnapped Gaara. We need Gaara back, and we need to help Naruto. He's lost . . . so lost . . . and we owe him.' Temari's voice was holding on by a thread, every note wavering, yet she still sounded firm and strong.

She didn't sound delusional.

Kakashi visibly bit his lip as he stared at Temari, eye narrowing to ascertain whether she was telling the truth or dragging him along. 'He's dead.' He stated bluntly.

'I'm sorry, but we'll see.' Temari answered, equally as firm.

'I'll give you three nights to rest. On the morning after the third night, we leave at dawn. If you're not ready, don't come. We need everyone to be strong and fast.' Kakashi told her, already having a plan in mind. He may be desperate to catch the Akatsuki, but he hadn't lost his senses. Even Sakura needed rest. 'Now, if you don't mind I'm going to speak to Gai. That'll be fun.' Kakashi muttered as he walked off, hands in his pockets as Sakura led Temari back inside.

!

'You guard, I'll help grab Shukaku from Gaara.' Naruto said as soon as they got the alert that they had another hour until the three day task began. If Karasu was helping it would probably go back down to two days, but they had always had an agreement that when this began, due to the larger number of members than expected, one would stand guard in the hideout where the tailed beast was. Precautions they could afford.

Karasu snorted and patted Naruto on the shoulder, hopping up gracefully to where the large fingers stretched into the sky. Naruto laughed at this and hopped up next to her, only inches apart. He was a good half a head taller.

'I'm doing this.' He growled menacingly. Karasu laughed at his attempt. She knew exactly that he was joking and trying to make her step down, and she knew that he knew that she knew.

'No, you're not. You see, I'm thinking that the Leaf will soon be looking for us, and if they somehow find us then the person guarding will have to throw them off long enough for Shukaku to be taken out. Do you still want me to guard?' Karasu asked, one eyebrow elegantly raised to the point where it was like an artwork.

Naruto hesitated, the words failing him. He swallowed quickly and tried to regain his composure. 'Well if the Leaf come they'll come in strength, wouldn't they?' At the question Karasu nodded wisely. 'Then it would be better for me to wait for them. You're better at this sort of work anyway.' Naruto nodded at his own wisdom before hopping down off the statue.

'Are the seal's in place?' Karasu called down, her voice echoing off the rocks. Naruto waved his hand at her, unknowingly performing the same action that his old mentor had always done.

Outside it was bright, warm and sunny. Naruto turned his face up to the sun and smiled blissfully. It had been an excellent day, even though Deidara and Sasori were a little miffed that they hadn't been in on the fun.

A few birds scattered wildly from the trees by the forest, Naruto saw them take to the air in a shrill of frightened calls and shrieks. Naruto frowned at their actions, and slowly a small smile spread across his features. Either someone was watching, or this was an omen that there would soon be a fight. Either way, there would be a fight. If someone was watching, they'd report his actions. It was a win-win, at least for him.

He smiled grimly and made his way around, looking at the seal's and flicking them experimentally. They didn't move, and nothing happened. All was as expected.

'And what am I meant to do for three whole days? The Leaf better hurry up.' Naruto growled. He suddenly realised that the leaf headband was still hanging around his neck. Angrily he yanked it off, glaring at the scarred metal. He threw it in the water pool at his feet, scrubbing the sandy substance from the cut. When he lifted it out, it was sparkling and shiny, the long kunai cut now clearly visible. He grunted in appreciation of his work.

He started to remember the Leaf as his home, and tried pushing the memories back. But they threatened him with a headache and slowly he let them trickle in. Kissing Sasuke, meeting Kakashi, seeing that Sakura was in his team, training, laughing, his first mission, Jiraya, Gaara, the exams . . . they all flooded in. The memories were bright and filled with laughter and light, filled with the sense of belonging.

Sakura had been so beautiful to him, she had also been so determined and strong. Perhaps not in the conventional way, but in every other possible form. Unfortunately she had been obsessed about Sasuke and hadn't paid Naruto any attention.

He remembered Shikamaru, and realising for the first time that this man was a genius. At the Chunin exams, he had seen the power that Kakashi had given Sasuke and the power that was Shukaku, and then he had witnessed his own incredible power and he had felt alive. The colours moved and danced in his memory, coming together in fireworks and moving apart.

He had felt so happy then, as if he belonged. Last of all he remembered running after Sasuke with Shikamaru, Neji, Choji and Kiba. The plan had been brilliant, he'd expected nothing less from Shikamaru. But slowly their numbers had dwindled until it was only Naruto, and he'd fought for his village and for the protection of all those innocent's. He had also fought for his brother, and he had won in a tie.

He had wanted to go home, he remembered the feeling of helplessness when he lay there, bleeding into the river. Then the relief when he heard someone approaching. He hadn't known that Kakashi would show the Village's true colour then, that he wouldn't pick up Naruto and help both, or call for help or make a shadow clone. He had turned to see him walk away, and Naruto had realised that the Village only ever thought of him as an idiot who was better off dead.

Naruto's fist clenched over the headband and he pulled back his arm to throw it as far away as possible. Then, on another thought, he slowly lowered his arm and looked at the ragged headband. He was meant to wear it, he knew he was. It was always attached to his hip so he wouldn't have to look at it or feel it. However if the Leaf did come, he could use this to make them sorry, to make them realise the depth of their deception and the consequences it had had on them and their future. He would make them pay, bit by bit until there was nothing left of them but an empty shell and then, when all the innocents were dead and dust, he would kill them slowly, while they watched their teammates die in the same horrendous fashion.

'You will _pay._' Naruto hissed, one more tiny crack forming in the metal alongside all the others.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Kakashi checked the time by the sun one more time; it was at least two minutes over. Everyone should have been gathered here by now, but for some reason Gai was late. Rock-Lee was also late, and Tenten and Neji were thoroughly embarrassed with their teammate's actions.

Temari and Kankuro were completely healed and anxious to start moving. Kakashi agreed. Two days of waiting wasn't good enough, they should've left immediately.

Kiba was hobbling along to say goodbye to them, Akamaru still couldn't walk so he had been left behind in the care of Kiba's mother and sister. Hinata was with him as well, looking sullen and utterly miserable. Shino was being supported by Hinata, his injuries had been brutal and fuelled by immense hatred. At the sight of the young ninja Kakashi's heart hardened. This monster who portrayed himself as Naruto would pay.

'So you're leaving eh?' Kiba asked grinning. Everything was strained, his voice and smile, but he was being brave and for that Kakashi was proud. He knew Kurenai was as well.

'As soon as Gai and Lee get here.' Sakura answered smiling tightly. Of all people, it had to be Gai and Lee who were late, those that always preached 'doing your best' and 'being on time'. Even for Kakashi this was something that was bordering on unacceptable.

'Good luck.' Hinata whispered, also giving the team a tight-lipped smile. Everyone felt the tension in the air, it was as suffocating as a thick, heavy blanket. Silence prevailed instantaneously, everyone shuffling their feet or checking their multiple weapons again. Kankuro was testing his limbs as Sakura had suggested, making sure that they were still in working order. Sakura had demanded that if there was any pain, he tell someone immediately and go home with an escort. He was not to slow down the team, and he knew that. So he was wanting to make sure that he was still able to be of assistance.

After several tense minutes, in which Kakashi didn't even touch the book attached to his hip, Gai and Lee appeared. Lee had his fists clenched and held up to his chest, eyes agleam with excitement. Gai was laughing about something with his hands on his hips, appearing taller than he actually was. 'Ah Kakashi! You're here early!' Gai cheered, waving his hand in a 'hello'.

Lee didn't say anything, he was literally brimming with excitement. He looked like a kid in a candy store.

'This isn't a matter to take lightly Gai. We're going after Akatsuki, one of whom is portraying himself as Naruto. Why are you so late?' Kakashi demanded coldly, staring down Gai. Gai didn't take anything to heart, just widened his grin and stopped in front of his rival.

'Training! Isn't that right Lee!' Gai answered immediately, happily looking at his student.

'Right sensei!' Lee shouted. Kakashi winced at the volume and took a step back.

'Oh it's you three! Back on your feet? Good job!' Gai congratulated Hinata, Kiba and Shino. They thanked him hesitantly and tried to attempt a smile. 'Kakashi! Are we ready?' Gai asked, turning around on his feet.

'I'm ready sensei!' Lee immediately shouted in response, thrusting his hand into the air and waving it around. Gai laughed and patted Lee on the head affectionately.

'Yes, we're ready.' Kakashi muttered, hefting his equipment onto his back again and turning to the three injured ninja. 'Take care of yourselves.' He told them, a hint of his former warmth returning to his voice. They all noticed it and smiled happily at him. No matter what, they had to come together as a village, especially now.

'You too. You're facing the Akatsuki, so make sure not to do anything too reckless.' Kiba joked happily. Kakashi's face lifted into a half smile and he ruffled up the young boys hair.

'We won't. You have my word.' He vowed before turning to the others and gesturing them on towards the gate.

The three ninjas waited until they couldn't see the others anymore, and then even longer after that.

Kakashi turned to Gai as soon as the Leaf was out of sight. 'Where were you this morning?' He asked coolly, refusing to be goaded into anything by Gai. Sometimes he was a real nuisance with that, and he especially loved challenges, most of all when he wasn't the one who had suggested them. Kakashi refused to allow him that pleasure.

'Training! We have a big task ahead of us, and we need the power of youth more than ever!' Gai shouted the last part enthusiastically, thrusting his fists into the air in a declaration of power and excitement. Kakashi wasn't the least bit impressed.

'So shouldn't you have spared that energy instead?' Kakashi asked tiredly, wondering why he'd even brought it up. Speaking to Gai could be like speaking to a brick wall.

_Naruto. You're late to find the ninja who's impersonating Naruto. _A small voice in the back of Kakashi's mind reminded him. He locked his jaw tight at the thought, the image of the dying ninja racing through his mind. He wouldn't let his image be spoiled by some brat who didn't know what a wonderful, brilliant ninja Naruto had been.

'Training gives you more energy Kakashi. You should know that, isn't that right Lee?' Gai shouted at his student, who turned around immediately in a whirl of dust and shouted 'YES SENSEI'. Gai laughed and congratulated Lee before walking on at an even faster pace, exclaiming that their destination was in reach if they just hurried on.

'I don't even know where he gets all this enthusiasm from.' Tenten groaned as she stared at her teammate and her team leader. Neji gently propelled her forwards.

'We've got a long way to go yet, and if we want to make it today then we need to follow their example.' Neji told her not unkindly. Tenten looked to her sane teammate and nodded in agreement, face set into hard lines. Whatever happened, they had to get there as soon as possible. Who knew what was going on with Gaara.

They first went to the place where the two ninja had attacked Temari and Kankuro, searching for anything to help them track the pair. The mountain range the witnesses had described was large and spanned many kilometres. If they wanted to find the missing Kazekage quickly, they had to use Kakashi's dogs to track them down if possible. If not, Kakashi had told them all to look for seals, as that was the most logical step for the Akatsuki to take.

They reached the rocky outcrop and didn't even recognise it as a place where something terrible had happened. It was silent and calm, the wind gently scattered tiny loose stones over the hard surface. The forests on either end retreated, and Sakura and Sasuke both looked to where they had last seen the ninja impersonating Naruto. At least, they hoped Kakashi's theory was right.

It had to be.

'If we don't find anything here, we'll go to where Kiba and the others were attacked. Span out and go in groups, we don't want any nasty surprises.' Kakashi ordered. Gai nodded, for once acting seriously, and went off with Lee. Tenten and Neji paired up, while the Sand Siblings stayed closer than a thief with his gold. Sakura and Sasuke naturally paired up, and Kakashi was alone.

He sighed unhappily, but shrugged it off. He quickly summoned Pakkun and told him about what had transpired so far.

'So we're sure this ninja is impersonating Naruto?' Pakkun asked after quietly listening to every word Kakashi had to say.

He nodded seriously, eyes hardening at the thought. 'I saw Naruto dying, the Akatsuki had no real interest in his life. They could have easily extracted the nine tails from him and left him for dead. There's no other possibility.' His voice was as hard as the rocks around them.

Pakkun turned around and looked at the other ninja, all bent over like old ladies and searching the ground for anything. 'The Akatsuki have gone over the line this time. This is beyond disrespectful.' Pakkun muttered angrily. He too remembered Naruto, and his memories were of a cheerful, hardworking young lad who never gave up. Pakkun was certain Naruto would never go with the Akatsuki, they were bad and he was good.

'It is, and we're going to put a stop to it.' Kakashi vowed.

After half an hour of thorough searching, nothing had turned up. They trekked to where Kiba and his team had been attacked, and began searching again.

Not even five minutes had passed until Pakkun had found something. He yelped at Kakashi to come and began nosing a black piece of cloth. 'Is this what we're looking for?' Pakkun asked uncertainly. Black cloths weren't uncommon, but it was too much of a coincidence for it to be here.

'It should be. Everyone, stop searching! We have something!' Kakashi called out to the others, who all hurried over to the pair. They bent over and looked at the scrap of cloth. It was almost as big as Kakashi's little finger, barely anything, yet apparently it was enough for Pakkun to have picked up.

'Is it theirs?' Tenten asked suspiciously. She didn't want any false leads.

'Too much of a coincidence, it being here. It's got to be. Pakkun, can you track it?' Kakashi asked the little dog. He sniffed at the cloth again and began to scurry around the ground. He lifted his head and looked at Kakashi with large, bright brown eyes.

'Yeah, I can track it. It leads this way, and by the scent they weren't moving slowly.' Pakkun informed. Kakashi nodded seriously, packing away the cloth and turned to the others.

'It looks like we'd better hurry. We don't want them to leave without us.' He said, already imagining the shocked face of the imposter just as Kakashi defeats him, preparing to bring the Akatsuki back to the Leaf to await their justice.

It was going to be glorious.

!

'It's taking so long.' Naruto grumbled, angrily kicking a loose rock. It went clattering over the rocky ground, and the

The ten ninja atop the fingers completely ignored Naruto, instead focusing all their energy onto the task at hand.

'Why aren't they here yet?' He grumbled again, louder this time. With every scuttle outside he'd fling his head in the direction, awaiting the doors to open and the Leaf ninja to infiltrate their base. He was so excited and tense; the last three days had been an absolute nightmare for him.

'Be thankful they are not. It would greatly disrupt this process.' The droning voice of Itachi rang out. Naruto glared at the shadowy ninja before continuing with kicking exactly the same rock. It was like an odd game of soccer for him.

'This is their friend, they should be running to help him. Why aren't they here? It doesn't take this long!' Naruto complained angrily, glaring at the rock and imagining the Leaf's ninja's faces on it. He could see them all, swirling about and laughing at him. He kicked it so hard the rock splintered and broke apart into thousands of tiny pieces.

'Good job, you just broke your toy.' Hidan chuckled.

'Shut up!' Naruto snapped, whirling around in a storm of black cape. Hidan only chuckled further at his outburst, but remained silent nonetheless.

'Come on guys, we only have half a day left. Let's not ruin it now.' Karasu muttered. It seemed that her words went unheard, and she didn't feel like arguing. She wanted this to work quickly, so that when the Leaf ninja finally _did _arrive, they could have a present waiting for them.

'There are plenty of rocks around, use those.' Kakazu grunted.

'If the rocks are life sized ninja, then I'd happily go for them!' Naruto defended. If he had been an animal, he would most certainly have his hackles raised and his fur bristling madly.

'Silence. Naruto, keep guarding and leave us to this.' Their leader's voice commanded.

Naruto grumbled obscene things under his breath and retreated to the furthest, darkest corner he could find. He glared at Akatsuki standing tall on the fingers and began to wonder if he shouldn't have been up there himself.

'I'll track them.' He muttered quietly, doing the hand signs to make a shadow clone. 'I'll track them and see what the hell is going on with them.' His shadow clone quietly left through the back exit, something that Karasu had been keen to install, and waited then. As soon as his clone saw the others, he'd vanish and then Naruto would know everything he needed.

!

They were now truly running, through the forests and going as quickly as they could until they reached the hidden base. It was a risk they were taking, making themselves burn energy to reach their destination as quickly as possible, but thankfully their chakra stores were rested and as good as could be.

When they reached the hideout they planned on retreating and resting for a full half hour, or perhaps an hour depending on their condition, and then attacking. Retreating was the most important factor of that plan, for they didn't know what traps the Akatsuki had set to keep their hideout protected from ninja like themselves.

Everyone was okay with that plan, they were prepared to wait, all except for Kakashi. He had acted happy with the plan, satisfied even, but everyone could see the anger boiling just beneath the surface. If needed Gai had arranged for himself, Neji and Sasuke to hold Kakashi and keep him with the others. If worst came to worse, Sakura would knock him out with her medical jutsu, just long enough for them all to rest.

Naturally Kakashi wasn't privy to this plan.

They had been traveling for several hours now, and it was just beginning to become midday. Sakura looked around her and decided this was a good place to rest for lunch. If they didn't eat, their energy stores would be replenished a lot slower.

'Lunch!' She called out, just loud enough for their group to hear but hopefully not loud enough for spying ninjas. It was always wise to assume that they were being watched and act accordingly, that Sakura had learnt from both Kakashi and Tsunade.

Everyone stopped on their respective tree limbs and hurried over to Sakura's. She'd stopped on an extra wide one, with enough room for everyone to dangle their legs over the side and enjoy some sandwiches.

They all carried their own food, and so sat down immediately and began to dig into their food. Without collaboration they all let out a tired breath at the same time. The worry was nagging away at them, especially the Sand Siblings, and they all wanted to get this lunch over as quickly as possible.

For an instant Sakura thought she saw eyes in the forest, standing right across from them. Startlingly blue, as deep as a sky without clouds. Naruto's eyes.

Sakura gasped and dropped her lunch. Sasuke and Kakashi were instantly alert, staring at her and then the place where her eyes were riveted. The blue eyes were still there, watching silently and never blinking.

'Sakura, what is it?' Sasuke asked, hand already resting over where his kunai were. Kakashi was prepared to lower his mask and reveal the sharingan.

'Don't you see them? The eyes, right there right over . . . there.' Sakura turned to Sasuke to speak and then back to where the eyes were to point at them, yet when she looked again they had vanished without a trace.

Sasuke and Kakashi stared at her with concern. The other ninja hadn't noticed that anything had transpired, it had all happened so quickly and with muted whispers.

Sakura continued to stare at the now empty tree branch, her eyes wide with concern for herself. Was she going mad?

Kakashi sighed heavily and ran a hand through his silver hair. 'It's the nerves.' He told her gently, before splitting his lunch into two and sharing it with Sakura. She smiled gently and accepted it, not wanting to mention that she was certain those eyes had been Naruto's.

She had most probably seen things; it wasn't anything to concern herself with.

A slight breeze picked up and lifted Sakura's hair from behind her neck. The air carried with it the scents of the forest, of moist moss and of fallen leaves decomposing, of the pines and the oaks and all the other trees that shared this forest. It smelt of fresh water and there was a hint of the animals that had a found a home here.

Sakura lifted her face into the wind and closed her eyes, inhaling deeply and soundlessly. She had to relax, she had to calm down before she did something stupid or saw something stupid. She calmed her racing mind, it had begun to hurt as soon as the eyes had disappeared. She pulled her head into her hands and rested it there, closing her eyes and imagining not what had to be done, but instead what life had been like before Orochimaru had promised Sasuke all those things, before everything had begun to fall apart at the seams.

It had been a wonderful time then, and more than anything Sakura wished she could go back and perhaps change things. What, she didn't know. However she felt this overwhelming sensation that she could have done _something _to change the outcome.

Kakashi's gently hand on her shoulder pulled her out of her wonderful daydream, and she looked up at him blinking. 'It's time to go.' He told her before pulling himself to his feet. Sakura did the same and looked at the others.

Everyone was preparing to leave, and all had this grim determination on their faces. Now they wouldn't stop until they found the base, and even then only for a short time. They were quickly closing in on the enemy, and soon they'd have to battle.

'Alright, let's go!' Sakura shouted, and everyone else nodded sternly before throwing themselves onto the next tree branch, and then the next and then the next.

!

Naruto opened his eyes and smiled grimly. He saw that they only had three hours at the most left, and the team from the Leaf, as well as the Sand Siblings (a welcome addition) were three hours away at their current speed, perhaps two and a half if they really pushed it. Knowing them, they'd wait to gain their strength back.

They'd have dealt with Gaara before they arrived, and long before they'd figure out how to deal with the seals placed all over their base. They wouldn't need clones to appear and distract them, which was even better. Naruto wanted them at full strength so he could test himself against them.

'Any news?' Karasu asked from her position on the finger. He saw her looking down at him, eyes now a crystal clear blue.

'They'll be here in two and a half hours at best, and even then they'll be resting to regain chakra. They're not idiots.' Naruto informed her, grinning gleefully.

Karasu nodded, mouth setting itself into a tight line. 'Are you prepared?' She asked him. Everyone was watching him now, even Pain.

'Of course.' Naruto flashed a barbaric smiled towards his new teammates, towards his new family. They all seemed to believe and they turned back to their work.

Only three hours remaining. It was so close, and yet so far away. It was almost worse now that Naruto knew the time.

He stood up and walked to the back exit, contemplating whether to leave or not. Turning back slightly he noticed that everyone was watching him again, yet none of them told him to stop or to return to doing nothing.

Naruto glared at the exit. It was so tempting. If it wasn't there, the Leaf's attack would have been an exciting surprise, and he wouldn't have been tempted just then to leave and make a welcoming committee of his own.

He walked casually back to the dark corner and sat back down, resting his back against the rough rock wall of the cave. He closed his eyes and focused on keeping his mind empty, completely empty and without any thoughts.

It didn't really work when he heard Kakazu and Hidan begin cursing and belittling each other again.

He opened his eyes and saw their transparent forms glaring daggers at each other, mouths forming words that he was trying his best to block out.

Then he noticed that Deidara and Sasori had found their arguing inspiring, and so had decided to argue about art.

Pain was ignoring them completely. He was satisfied with the way that this was panning out, all their chakra was still focused on extracting Shukaku from the Kazekage and it was continuing as it should. Konan was looking from her leader back to the arguing pairs, and Karasu looked about ready to give up on everyone and go solo.

It was then that Naruto realised . . . this was his family. Beforehand arguing like this had been highly irritating, and he had hated every single one of the Akatsuki. But now . . . their arguing was soothing and he enjoyed the times when they all came together. The arguing was an indication of peace, and deep in Naruto's heart he felt a small thrill of warmth.

What he really wanted, he realised, was peace with this family. Oddly enough that was achieved through their continuous killing and collecting loot, and even if the nine-tails was extracted from him he didn't care because he knew they had a way to revive him without him losing any of his strength.

All he wanted was peace, and he knew that that couldn't be achieved with the Leaf and the Sand, it couldn't be achieved with how the world was in that moment. If it could be, Naruto would be all ears however he knew that was just a dream.

Naruto relaxed once more into the wall and closed his eyes, a tiny smile gracing his lips. It was one that hadn't been seen for three years, one of peace and content. He fell asleep listening to the babble of arguing voices, thinking that life really couldn't be any better.

Karasu turned and looked at Naruto, and what she saw nearly made her fall off the finger. He was smiling, like she'd seen in the pictures she'd discovered a while ago. She'd been on another of her infiltration missions, and had found these wonderful pictures in Kakashi's, Naruto's former team leader, room.

She hadn't ever seen Naruto look as content and happy as those photographs, but there he was with a little smile lighting up his features, looking happier than Karasu could remember. Her heart softened a little as well as she understood what had caused this quiet change.

She looked to Kakazu and Hidan, Deidara and Sasori and thanked them quietly in her head. If Naruto could find something enjoyable in this little band of theirs, then she was certain the others would find something as well, and her gut told her it would be sometime soon.

!

'Found it!' Pakkun shouted hours later. They had rested, Kakashi hadn't needed to be detained thankfully, and everyone was feeling nervous and anxious as well as incredibly annoyed. The Akatsuki had attacked them, stolen one of their friends or sibling and they deserved what was now coming to them.

'Let's go Lee!' Gai shouted, completely forgetting that they were planning to be quiet. Kakashi looked tiredly to Tenten and Neji for an explanation as Gai and Lee ran off, leaving only a cloud of dust behind.

Tenten shrugged apologetically with a little smile, while Neji looked away in embarrassment. Kakashi sighed and trudged after the enthusiastic ninjas, hopping onto a larger rock to look at the fortress ahead of them.

A large egg shaped rock, perhaps fifteen Kakashi's tall, stood in front of what was presumably a cave. A seal was over the rock, and there were definitely going to be others hidden about the terrain as well.

Gai was walking up the rock to the seal while Lee was searching around with a hand shielding his eyes for another seal.

The others caught up to Lee and Gai in a few more moments, looking up at Gai and sideways at Lee who was beginning to look like Pakkun.

'Gai, don't touch it.' Kakashi called up tiredly. Gai waved back and looked at the seal in detail.

'Sensei! I cannot find the other seals! Is this the only one?' Lee asked, shouting up to his mentor. Gai looked down at his student and laughed carelessly. It was a loud, booming laugh and the others all winced at it. Those on the other side of the door were sure to now know that they were here.

'Of course you can't Lee! They've been carefully hidden! Kakashi! We need one person on every seal and we need to rip them off at exactly the same time, otherwise the trap will be activated on all of the seals!' Gai called down.

'Do you know how many there are?' Sakura asked the obvious question.

Gai turned back to the seal, not even daring to touch the smooth paper. 'There ought to be four.' He called back down, with less vigour than before. He was beginning to realise the situation they were in, and the immense trust that was being placed in the Leaf to return the Kazekage back to the Sand without harm.

'Alright. Lee, Tenten and Neji go to the other three seals. Pakkun will guide you. Once you've found it give a signal.' Kakashi informed Team Gai.

'Right!' They shouted together, before being led off by Pakkun into the nearby bushes.

Now Kakashi turned to his remaining teammates. 'We will need to stand guard here, in case anything happens. Be prepared, this isn't a normal situation we're in. This is the Akatsuki, S-ranked criminals. They'll kill you if they can, so don't hold back.' He gave them the last piece of advice before he became silent and staring at the rock. He pulled down his mask and activated the sharingan.

Sasuke activated his as well and found he couldn't see inside the base. He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for what was to come.

!

'Sounds like they're getting ready.' Naruto sighed, sitting up from his sleeping position and stretching his arms and hands luxuriously above his head.

Everyone had disappeared, the cavern was silent and Karasu was staring at the large rock that was currently acting as a door. She looked calm and her eyes were slowly drooping shut. However Naruto saw that they were now as black as fresh ink, and he knew that she was prepared to battle.

'Of course. The seals were made easier, by you I'm assuming. They'll get in with no trouble.' Karasu sighed, leaning against the statue. Gaara's unmoving body was laying on the ground, face turned towards the door as if mocking those who would come through it.

Naruto walked casually over to the body and sat on it, staring at the lifeless form. He poked the cheek, and nothing moved. 'Did a good job here.' Naruto congratulated dryly.

'Couldn't be helped.' Karasu informed him, taking note of his tone. Naruto looked up at her with darkened eyes.

'I didn't meant it like that, I meant that I wished I was the one to kill him.' Naruto admitted shamelessly. Karasu shrugged gracefully.

'Then you should've been the one up there. I can't help it if the Leaf are as slow as snails.' She yawned, holding a hand over her mouth.

They lapsed into silence once more, until there was a loud booming noise and the door rolling away from the opening, letting the late afternoon sunlight flood in and illuminate the scene in front of them.

'What the . . .' Were the first words heard by the two Akatsuki, and as if acting on a signal Naruto lifted his head to peer at those who had come in. He grinned wickedly.

'Welcome.' He called mockingly, his eyes holding all the menace and hatred he felt for the Leaf. 'Been awhile hasn't it . . . _friends._'


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine **

'Been awhile hasn't it . . . _friends_.' The voice was as cold as ice and so dipped in hatred Kakashi recoiled as if he had been hit. Sakura and Sasuke were staring at the blonde Akatsuki in front of them, their entire bodies trembling like leaves.

Temari and Kankuro both cried out for their brother upon seeing his pale and lifeless form staring at them with wide open eyes. It was almost as if he were crying for help when he had died.

Gai leapt elegantly from the rock and landed next to Kakashi with a grim look of determination on his face, but that fell away into shock and horror as he saw who they were now facing.

'What is this?' Gai croaked hoarsely, staring at the imposter who resembled what Naruto may have grown up into had he been alive. The imposter stared back coldly, his blue eyes darkening with each passing second.

'Your welcoming committee. Gai, isn't it? The idiotic fool who danced around preaching about youth and its power, as if an old man like himself could actually hold onto it.' The imposter ground out, eyes never wavering from Kakashi's.

'You . . . you can't be Naruto . . . Naruto is . . .' Gai whispered, fumbling for the words that would never come. He stared in absolute horror at Naruto, and then his gaze shifted to the unmoving form that the ninja was using as a bench.

Temari and Kankuro were in tears, yet they still whipped out their weapons. The rest of Team Gai jumped into the scene and were as equally shocked and horrified as Gai had been. They couldn't believe their eyes, and now more than ever they forced themselves to believe what Kakashi had said. This wasn't their Naruto, this was an imposter. This was someone who hated the Leaf for some reason and was doing everything they could to torture and belittle them.

The raven haired girl, who had gone unnoticed until now, whistled softly at the number of ninja she saw before her. 'Impressive.' She mused, a coy smile playing on her lips. Kakashi broke the gaze with the imposter and stared at her. Her eyes were bottomless black pits, he couldn't even see the pupil.

'Give Gaara back!' Temari shouted, her voice echoing off the cave's stone walls. The imposter looked away from Kakashi and tilted his head like a bird, gazing at the now furious kunoichi.

'Who, this?' He asked, grabbing a fistful of Gaara's red hair and dragging his head up. He looked like some sick puppet.

Temari cried out and sent one of her slicing whirlwinds towards the Akatsuki, opening her steel fan all the way to show the three moons. The force of the gale sent the Leaf ninja stumbling back, just as Kakashi shouted at Temari to stop.

The cutting wind slashed its way towards Gaara, and the imposter didn't even seem bothered by it. Temari realised too late what she had done, and cried out as if her voice could stop the impending attack.

Then, just like that, the wind vanished and the Akatsuki's kunoichi stood in front of the imposter and Gaara, staring at Temari with cold, lifeless eyes.

'You don't want to injure your precious Gaara, do you?' She asked in a sickly sweet voice. Temari growled angrily, glad that the Akatsuki had stopped her attack and furious that she was acting so high and mighty about it.

'Temari that's enough!' Gai shouted sternly. The imposter's eyebrow arched gracefully at the power play, and he stared at the two ninja with closed curiosity.

Temari spun and glared at Gai, before conceding his point and stepping down. Gai turned back to the Akatsuki and swallowed the rising lump of dread in his throat. 'What do you want? You have no more use for Gaara's body, why not give him to us?' He called out.

The imposter turned towards the body and stared into the dull eyes, their previous colour had already drained out. The imposter turned the face this way and that, purposefully angering Temari and Kankuro as they witnessed their little brother and Kazekage being manhandled ungracefully by someone who clearly didn't care about what he was doing.

After several seconds, in which the imposter turned the head this way and that so that the neck nearly snapped, he let the head fall back down to face the doorway. He looked up, his brilliant blue eyes connecting with Gai's. 'I have great use for _Gaara's _body. These days there is little amusement, he'll provide plenty of entertainment.' The imposter chuckled darkly and flicked Gaara's cheek lightly.

'Why you . . .' Kankuro growled, quickly flicking out his two puppets, the Crow and Salamander, the Chakra strings already attached.

The girl feigned fear as she stared at the puppets. 'Oh God! You've found our weakness . . . it's puppets!' She gasped vividly, before her facial features returned to their normal, sadistic selves. Her eyes locked with Kankuro's and a small smile graced her lips, cutting through her beauty like a hot knife. 'So eager to fight again? This time I'll make sure you die.' She growled, taking a single step forwards.

The ferocity behind her voice made Kankuro take a step back with her, a tiny bead of sweat trickling down his cheek.

'If you want a fight, we'll show you the power of youth!' Gai shouted, throwing a fist into the air. His team shouted 'RIGHT' and leapt forwards, prepared to take the kunoichi by surprise. Instead she flicked out four tags, each one landing on the ninja's chests perfectly.

'I think you can wait your turn.' She laughed as she dove backwards, landing neatly on her feet. From the four ninja's chests sprouted creatures that looked just like the ninja they'd come from. Suddenly Lee was standing in front of Lee, Tenten was in front of Tenten and the same with Neji and Gai.

'What the . . .' Tenten muttered.

'I hope you know yourselves inside out.' The kunoichi chuckled, before slamming chakra into her feet and seemingly been thrown backwards with tremendous force. She landed next to Naruto with an elegance mostly seen only in royalty.

'This space is going to become a little crowded. How about we take this elsewhere?' Naruto asked, a smile appearing that mirrored the razor sharp one of the girl next to him. Naruto gingerly kicked Gaara, using the opposing ninja's hatred for him to his advantage. Karasu had a little secret that they weren't willing to divulge at that moment. The misdirection that Naruto used gave them a split second in which Karasu made her move, and the three of them, including Gaara's body, vanished in a violent puff of black smoke.

Before the other ninja could even give a cry of outrage two things happened. The first, Naruto, Karasu and the body appeared almost as soon as they disappeared a few metres behind the ninja. The second, doubles of the Team Gai started to morph and appear from the stone and puddles around them.

Karasu's words made sense then, a horrible sinking feeling of understanding that was dawning on all of the ninja as they stared at their friend's doubles, who were grinning so wickedly it frightened everyone.

'As I said, let us move elsewhere if you want to continue this . . . meeting.' Naruto chuckled humourlessly. Kakashi was the first to whirl around. He still couldn't believe what his eyes were showing him, he still believed with all his heart that the Naruto in front of him was an imposter.

Yet as Kakashi whirled around to face the 'imposter' he saw that same determination in those sparkling blue eyes as he remembered when Naruto was alive and well in the Leaf. The eyes were exactly the same, like when Naruto had stood up to Haku and Zabuza, the same eyes as when he had faced Kiba and Neji and won against the odds.

For a single second Kakashi's belief wavered, and it broke and shattered every part of Kakashi.

Then Naruto swung Gaara's body over his shoulder and ran so quickly he was just a blur. The kunoichi vanished in a puff of black smoke once more.

Temari and Kankuro both screamed and ran after them and Kakashi was about to follow suit when he remembered his teammates. He turned around to see Gai quickly fending off a blow of his double, and the other three ninja seemed to be holding their own as well. 'Go Kakashi! We'll manage here!' Gai shouted at Kakashi just as he blocked another blow. Tenten cried out as she was flung into the rock wall, but before Kakashi could move Neji was there and protecting her until she came to her feet.

Kakashi looked at the other ninja and nodded strongly. 'Let's go.' He spoke with authority and strength as he dashed off in a chaotic dash after the Sand and the Akatsuki.

'Good luck.' Gai grunted as he watched the others run off. In a few seconds all that was left of their presence were the dust trails they had left behind.

!

'They're slow.' Karasu whispered, eyes staring intently as she watched the quickly approaching ninja. She had switched to another one of her techniques, and her eyes were able to see as far as a hawk.

'They're careful.' Naruto grunted, seemingly bored. Karasu let a little smirk slip onto her lips as she watched her partner through her peripherals. He was intently staring at the ninja and a look of cold hatred was taking over his bright eyes.

'Careful doesn't necessarily coincide with slow.' Karasu grinned evenly, fingers playing with the kunai in her hand.

Naruto didn't answer. His fingers were messing with Gaara's bright red hair, and he was sitting on the lifeless body with little empathy.

'Let's just hope they make it soon, otherwise you look like you're going to take off.' Karasu joked as she lifted herself into a standing position and dusted off invisible flecks of dirt from her cloak.

'No. I wouldn't miss this for the world.' Naruto whispered gratingly.

!

Kakashi suddenly halted, heels leaving deep imprints in the ground. He had overtaken Temari and Kankuro, and now he had to whip out his arms to stop them from running into the confrontation head on. Sasuke and Sakura ran up behind them as well, and the five ninja stared at the two in front of them.

The girl was standing a little behind the imposter, head tilted to the side like a bird. Her eyes were as black as her hair.

The imposter was standing on top of Gaara's body, staring them down with hate filled eyes.

'Didn't think you'd ever get here. Nearly left.' The girl called out to them, voice dripping in mockery.

Kakashi made a quick sweep of the surrounding area. It was a rather open field, perhaps not the best idea against Temari. The forest was off to one side, and a small stream was cutting through the middle. The ground was dusty and unused and there was no rocks around either.

It was a perfect fighting ground for them. Kankuro and Temari had free reign with their jutsu, Sasuke could use his sharingan and Sakura would be able to use her incredible strength and temper. As for Kakashi, he too would use his sharingan.

But then again, these two ninja had chosen this place for a reason. Without knowing their abilities, Kakashi was hesitant about the upcoming battle.

'What do you want? Why won't you give us Gaara's body, you have no more use for him.' Kakashi shouted to the two ninja. A sudden sense of dread washed over Kakashi, and the fog that had clouded his grief stricken mind for several years began to lift momentarily.

They were in trouble. He felt it in every fibre of his being, and by looking at Sasuke and Sakura's faces he knew that they felt this too.

The imposter slowly twisted Gaara's head from side to side, twisting it to awkward angles and inspecting every angle of his pale face. Temari cried out in horror and whipped out her iron fan, sending ferocious slicing whirlwinds in the imposter's direction.

Kakashi quickly turned on his sharingan and stared at the imposter intently. Whatever he was about to do, Kakashi would know exactly how it happened.

Yet it wasn't nearly as exciting as Kakashi had hoped. The imposter merely pushed chakra into his feet and jumped a considerable distance into the air. The force of the jump was heard to crack several of Gaara's ribs and it jolted him into the ground. He left the body behind, the wind only ruffled Gaara's clothes and hair, and then he was back on top of the body.

'That wasn't nice.' The girl chuckled darkly before turning to her companion. 'I think it's time, don't you?' She asked sweetly.

That was when it exploded.

The girl vanished in a puff of black smoke and reappeared at the exact same moment centimetres from Sakura's face. The Akatsuki's fist was already poised and ready, so that as soon as she reappeared she sent it hurtling towards Sakura's face.

Sakura sensed the danger before her peripherals noticed the black shape. She blocked the blow with milliseconds to spare, and the force of it sent her hurtling across the grass.

The girl vanished again and appeared just above Sakura, a foot already hovering just above her stomach. Sakura flipped herself around and grabbed the foot, slamming the Akatsuki down to the ground. The Akatsuki melted into black shadow, just like ice would. Sakura gaped. It had been a shadow clone, a _literal _shadow clone.

Sasuke flung himself in front of Sakura, she could see that he had activated his sharingan in both eyes. He held his sword in front of his face, eyes darting side to side so quickly Sakura couldn't track their line of sight.

'She moves erratically, illogically. We can't use reason against her attacks.' Sasuke breathed quietly to Sakura. She nodded quickly and turned around so that they were back to back.

Kakashi turned to help his students when something flew by his cheek. Blood started to well from the smallest cut on his cheek. Kakashi flinched and flung himself to face the imposter once more. His eyes were riveted on Kakashi.

'You and the two little ones there are fighting me.' He spoke slowly and deliberately. Kakashi felt his heart hammering inside his chest as he stared breathless as the ninja in front of him. He was unsure of how this confrontation was going to end.

The female Akatsuki reappeared, this time on the edge of the trees. She was swinging something long and sharp in her hands, and after a moment Sasuke recognised it as a long, thin sabre much like his own, only curving. He nudged Sakura quickly and she turned to face the Akatsuki.

'You look pretty confident with that toy.' She called out lazily. 'You ought to be careful, you might poke someone's eye out.' She appeared to laugh, before once more vanishing in a cloud of black smoke.

Only Sasuke's lightning reflexes saved him from being beheaded as the kunoichi appeared directly in front of him, sabre flying towards his neck. He brought his own blade up and the two clashed in a scream of metal, sparks flying like fireworks.

For a single moment Sasuke's eyes met with the Akatsuki's, and he saw a maddening sort of glee in them that frightened him. The moment was broken as she sprung back, narrowly avoiding Sakura's lightning fist. 'Come on Sasuke! I need your help!' Sakura cried out, snapping him out of stupor.

!

'I'm here!' He shouted, bringing his blade back up into a defensive stance. Until he could figure out a way to stop her, they'd need to proceed like this.

Temari wasted absolutely no time in unleashing another one of her ferocious, cutting whirlwinds onto the imposter. Kakashi saw him roll his eyes as he simply jumped aside, though that feat in itself was remarkable. Temari's attacks weren't long distance for nothing.

Kakashi saw a flicker of black from the corner of his eyes where the imposter was, and there he was. Kankuro and Temari worked seamlessly together, so it shouldn't have come as a surprise. Yet Kakashi found himself impressed. Kankuro had been fast, and now Black Ant was coming in behind the imposter as the Scarecrow was in front of the imposter, pushing him against the Black Ant. The imposter slammed against the Black Ant and flung his head around in surprise, but too late as the arms of the puppet sped out and entrapped the imposter. The Scarecrow launched its limbs into the Black Ant, as well as firing multiple poisoned projectiles into the puppet.

Silence prevailed, and with it Temari's and Kankuro's clear relief and elation. Yet as Kakashi looked at the small streams of blood seeping from the puppets body, all he could feel was sheer horror and doom.

'We did it. Kankuro . . . we did it!' Temari cried happily. Kankuro nodded, laughing as well as a few small tears seeped from his eyes.

Temari looked over to where Gaara lay and slowly ran over to him, stumbling a few times over her own feet. When she finally reached his limp body she fell to her knees beside him and began to sob breathlessly, cradling her dead brother's head in her lap.

Kankuro stumbled over as well, leaving his puppets where they were and joining his siblings. He too was crying wretchedly, and though Kakashi wanted to join the siblings in remembering their fallen friend he felt that something was terribly off.

'Kankuro, we need to make sure that the imposter is dead.' Kakashi called out, hurrying over to the puppet.

'Just open it Kakashi! I don't want to see him.' Kankuro called out. Kakashi tried to pry open the puppet, like he had seen Kankuro do several times, yet it wouldn't budge. That feeling of doom was swelling in Kakashi's chest as the struggle continued, but to no avail.

'Kankuro, it's not opening. Something is wrong.' Kakashi called out. He turned to look at the three and met Kankuro's eyes. They were torn and horrible to look into. Pits of sadness and never ending despair that seemed to be engulfing everything around it. Kakashi could barely stand to look into them for too long.

'Kakashi . . . the imposter is dead. He's no more.' Kankuro sobbed, his voice barely more than a whisper. Kakashi had never thought he would see the young ninja like this.

That was when Kakashi saw the danger, a single moment before it arrived. 'KANKURO! TEMARI!' He screamed, flinging out a hand to them. But it was too late.

!

Sasuke gritted his teeth against the force of the Akatsuki as they once again crossed blades. He'd already tried Chidori, but the Akatsuki had only to wait until the last moment to vanish and attack Sakura, rendering that move useless.

Sakura wasn't faring too well either. The Akatsuki's attacks seemed to be mainly directed towards her, and they were growing more and more vicious. Yet the enemy kunoichi wasn't doing any more than vanishing and reappearing in the same second and using her sabre, legs and fists to do the damage. Sasuke wasn't certain to the extent of her abilities, but if this was the best she could do he knew that they could defeat her.

If only they could lure her into that attack again.

The Akatsuki vanished as soon as she crossed blades with him. It had been from the side, Sasuke hadn't been able to see her eyes. If only he could look into her eyes again, he'd have her in his genjutsu.

He looked over to Sakura and met her eyes. She looked fearful and he could see a dozen bruises and cuts. One was hovering above her eye and the blood was running and probably messing up her eyesight. However she didn't look beaten. The opposite in fact. She looked ready to bring the Akatsuki to her knees.

Sasuke nodded once, just in time to see the Akatsuki reappear in front of Sakura, her blade swinging and arching at deadly speed towards Sakura's face. Sakura grabbed the sabre with her two hands and swung it to the side, leg shooting out and hitting the Akatsuki's ribs and breaking several of them. Sasuke had a moment of hope, until the enemy kunoichi melted into shadow once more.

They just couldn't seem to get a real hold on her position.

Sakura ran over to Sasuke with wide eyes. 'Sasuke, do you think you can get her in your genjutsu?' She asked in a whisper. Sasuke nodded, eyes constantly skirting over their surroundings, looking for any sign that their enemy was close.

'Remember at the beginning? I saw her eyes then, but I didn't do anything. If I can get her to do exactly the same thing again, then I can trap her and defeat her.'

'What do you need?' Sakura asked determinedly.

'To get her mad.' Sasuke answered.

The two, now united with a plan, turned to stare at the tree line. Whenever there was a lag in the battle the kunoichi returned there.

She was leaning against a tree, looking sad and angry with her blade in her hand. The other was gently moving up and down the sharp end, tracing it with a delicate care. 'I had thought you were going to give me a good time,' She sighed loudly. 'I suppose there's nothing left to do but end it now then.' As she said these words, she ran at them. Instead of vanishing and reappearing, she actually ran at them with tremendous speed.

Sasuke brought up his blade and once more they crashed together with the grating sound of steel against steel, and this time when they locked eyes, Sasuke was ready and the kunoichi was trapped.

!

Kakashi stared at the imposter, eyes wide in utter disbelief. This blonde haired ninja whose characteristics were so like Naruto's had beaten Temari and Kankuro in minutes. The rage that this Akatsuki had just demonstrated had been tremendous, and now those hate filled eyes were turned towards Kakashi.

'Why are you doing this? Why are you torturing the Leaf and the Sand like this?' Kakashi called out angrily.

'You still don't understand, do you? All this,' The imposter threw a vicious kick at Temari and she mewled in pain. 'Is because of you. You're the one who left me, chose to save Sasuke instead of me. You turned your _back _on me when I _needed you the most!_ The Akatsuki . . . they showed me the truth of _you, _the _Leaf _and the _Sand_!' He was shouting now, his eyes were burning with such tremendous wrath that Kakashi could nearly feel the waves swarming off him.

'I never left . . . how would you know! You're not even Naruto, just an imposter!' Kakashi shouted angrily at the imposter, who only laughed harshly and bitterly at the ninja's words.

'No? Then what's this?' The imposter called out before ripping something off of his neck. He held it up before Kakashi's eyes, and it nearly destroyed him. It was the necklace that Tsunade had given Naruto the first time they'd met. The necklace that Naruto had received because he had proven himself. The necklace that only Naruto would wear or consider important enough to keep all this time.

'Na . . . ru . . . to?' Kakashi whispered, hand reaching out hesitantly and hopefully. His vision blurred as tears forced their way into his eyes, and the figure before him was suddenly not so clear. For a moment, a single wonderful moment, he thought that with the realisation Naruto would see clearly and come home to the Leaf, forsaking the Akatsuki forever.

'You finally realised.' Naruto whispered. Those three words jolted Kakashi back to reality just in time to see Naruto come running at him at full speed. In his hands was a rasengan, this one spinning blue and red and white. Kakashi's immediate instinct was to counter it with one of his own jutsu's, but he realised quickly that he was too late to counter.

As soon as that thought crossed his mind he went to dodge to the side, flicking his body around Naruto and coming at him from behind. A millisecond before the rasengan hit Kakashi he performed his dodge as elegantly as a dancer. He used Shadow Clone to create one that grabbed his arm and threw him backwards and into the air. The Shadow Clone vanished in a puff of smoke and when Naruto turned his head slightly to gape up at Kakashi he released the Lightning Cutter, effectively stunning Naruto.

The young Akatsuki fell to the ground, eyes still trained on Kakashi.

Kakashi landed on the ground softly next to Naruto and looked down at his stunned body. He felt his heart sink and plummet with the realisation that Naruto had survived all this time, had been taken in by ruthless killers and had become one of them. He felt his chest constrict and the breath leave his body, and all he could hope was that it wasn't too late for Naruto.

Kakashi knelt down next to Naruto and, with trembling hands, went forwards to remove the cut leaf headband from Naruto's head. When his fingers were about to touch the metal, Naruto vanished in a cloud of smoke. Or really, the Shadow Clone vanished in a cloud of smoke.

Kakashi stared for a split second at where the body had been before whirling around with a kunai already in his hand. Before him was Naruto, the real Naruto, with the same soundless rasengan in his hand. The two were so close Kakashi could feel Naruto's hot breath, see the crystal clear blue eyes so clearly he almost drowned in their loathing and hatred.

The rasengan hit the kunai, melting and blasting away the metal before hitting Kakashi right in the middle of his chest.

!

The female Akatsuki was trapped inside Sasuke's genjutsu, clouds of red were surrounding her and her arms were hovering above her, tied and roped to large poles. Smoking crows were flying all around her, and in front of her was Sasuke with a kunai in his hand. Tiny cuts were all over the Akatsuki's pale skin, and her cloak was lying next to her.

Sakura watched from the real world as Sasuke wounded and questioned the Akatsuki member. She glanced over where Kakashi was standing, facing the imposter, and she saw the two motionless bodies of Temari and Kankuro. However she didn't need to help to Kakashi, she knew that he could take care of himself. She turned before she was able to witness Naruto ripping off the necklace.

The next minute ran by incredibly quickly. Sakura watched Sasuke and the Akatsuki intently, but then her attention was fully taken by the Akatsuki. She walked closer and peered at her, wondering why she looked so eerily familiar.

Sakura looked at the pale skin and the pitch black hair, and then she thought about the Akatsuki's attacks and her movements. Sakura frowned and treaded closer, confident that she was still trapped and under Sasuke's control.

Sakura crouched down and stared at the Akatsuki, very tempted to brush away some hair. Sakura wished she could see the girl's eyes.

Then Sakura heard something behind her. She was never sure what had made her turn around, what had made a sound, but she turned anyway and saw that Kakashi had been thrust backwards with tremendous force and was lying several metres away from Sakura, and many more from the imposter. She gaped at the massive wound in Kakashi's chest and she knew immediately that it could be life threatening if not treated immediately.

Then Sasuke screamed out. Sakura whirled back around to face him, and saw that the Akatsuki was standing up and that Sasuke was twisting his limbs around him at impossible angles, breaking them one by one.

'Sasuke what are you doing?!' Sakura cried out.

'Oh little one, he's not doing anything at all.' A voice purred. It was quiet and seductive and cold, and it belonged to the female Akatsuki.

Sakura looked at her and stared at what she saw. Shadows were writhing around her, acting as if they were alive. One had latched itself onto Sasuke's shadow, and Sakura saw it bend Sasuke's shadow so that his arm broke in two places. Sasuke cried out once more.

'What . . .' Sakura whispered fearfully. One of the shadow creatures spun at her without warning, and she only just managed to avoid it. It came again, and Sakura punched it with all her might. The shadow was thrust backwards into the writhing mass of shadows surrounding the Akatsuki, but it came back at her almost instantly.

Sakura leaped backwards, using her incredible chakra control to insert force into her jumps and flips. The shadows kept coming at her while Sasuke was being tortured, and Sakura realised the dire situation she was in. She was, at that moment, the only one capable of fighting the two Akatsuki, and she didn't know if Team Gai was going to be able to rescue her.

She looked at the Akatsuki for a split second and noticed a broken pinkie. A cold sweat forced its way over her skin, it felt clammy and cold. How long had the Akatsuki been free of Sasuke's genjutsu?

She ran into someone behind her, and her heart stopped. Strong hands gripped her arms and Sakura nearly fainted. She whirled around, breaking free of the grip and saw that it had been indeed the imposter. He looked so much like Naruto up close, he also smelled just like he had but with a little more wilderness there.

He tilted his head as he looked at her, his blue eyes sparkling like they had used to. Sakura was about to push both palms flat against the imposter's chest and push chakra into him so that she was able to escape, when her eyes caught something shining on his chest. She gasped when she saw the small necklace that she could remember so well. She remembered his face when he came back from that mission, his face when he'd presented the necklace and had told Sakura all about how he had impressed the future Hokage.

Naruto had died with that necklace still around his neck. And Naruto was now standing in front of her with that necklace around his neck.

'Naruto?' Sakura whispered, tears pricking her eyes and spilling over silently.

'Sakura.' Naruto replied solemnly. Sakura felt relieved for an instant, until she realised how bad this was. Naruto was alive, he was an Akatsuki, and he was holding someone who had ignored him and hit him and had never returned his feelings that she now realised had been a crush. He had a reason to hate and despise Sakura, and who knows what the Akatsuki had made him think, had done to him.

She was in the hands of someone more than capable of killing her. And he had just defeated Kakashi.

Sakura thrust her palms up and hit Naruto with the chakra as she had intended earlier. She flew backwards, only to hit another Naruto. This one was already prepared for her, as if he had been able to read her mind. He grabbed her arms then, the Naruto behind her, so that she couldn't use her palms or fists to hit him. She could hardly move. His legs were holding her own against him, and Sakura could feel the strength radiating off of Naruto. He had grown up so well, unfortunately he had grown up with the Akatsuki.

The other Naruto brought up a rasengan then, one that was spinning blue and white. He looked at Sakura and tilted his head once more. Sakura thought he was going to say something. She struggled against the Naruto behind her, desperate to escape now that she knew what was coming. She struggled, pushing and pulling against him, but it was like fighting against an immovable object. She was useless and defenceless when the rasengan hit her and knocked her out.

!

'Hurry up and finish him. The others are waiting.' Naruto grumbled to Karasu. She looked sad, like a puppy that had just had its toy taken away, but she obeyed without argument. The shadows strangled Sasuke until the light was gone from his eyes and he fell to the floor unconscious.

The two Akatsuki then walked together over to where Gaara's lifeless body was. For some reason, they felt as if they ought to hide his body so the others couldn't find it. They didn't want to give the Sand the peace that came with that.

'Wait.' Karasu's arm came out and hit Naruto in the chest. He stopped quickly and stared at his partner. Her eyes, a swirling mass of black, were slowly turning back to an icy blue.

Karasu then started to back away from the body slowly, eyes cautiously scanning the surrounding land.

'Let's go.' She grabbed Naruto's arm jerkily. It was his turn to not argue, and the two vanished in a cloud of smoke.

The hidden Sand ninja slowly emerged from the land and came forward, towards Gaara's body and those of the other ninja. Granny Chiyo moved forwards to the dead body and looked down at it sadly.

'This is the doing of the Akatsuki.' One of the ninja said to the elderly lady.

'Clearly. Has the Leaf been contacted?' She asked bitterly, glancing over at the ninja who had fallen.

'A message has been sent, but some of these ninja need treatment immediately.' The ninja confirmed Granny Chiyo's fears.

She sighed sadly and bowed her head. 'I've lived a good life, wouldn't you say?' She asked calmly, eyes closed.

The ninja was taken aback by this sudden change in topic, but in respect he decided to answer her. 'It seems to be. You're very well-known and respected.' He replied honestly, hoping the answer would satisfy her.

It didn't seem to, but it didn't seem to anger or upset her either. 'Yes. Respected and loved by all.' She chuckled without much humour. 'I don't know if I have the strength for this, would you help me?' She asked, finally opening her eyes again and turning to face the ninja beside her. The others were all busy looking after those who had fallen.

'Of course . . .' He replied uncertainly. Granny Chiyo crouched down next to the body with the ninja across from her. She smiled a little smile before beginning the jutsu that would take her life.

She remembered Sakura then, how she had come to the village a year ago and helped them with a sickness they hadn't been able to cure. Sakura had risked her own life, postponed her training, just so that she could help the Sand. That had restored some of the faith for Granny Chiyo, faith that the new generation was going to turn out alright, and perhaps restore the world and make it better.

Such a world didn't need an old, grouchy old lady like her in it. No. Such a world needed a strong leader like Gaara.

Those were the last thoughts she had, before Gaara sat up suddenly, gasping and taking deep wheezing breaths.

**_Hey readers, thanks for hanging out for this chapter. I know in the past 5 months there have been several reviews and a lot of you have been asking for this, and I'm sorry it's been so long in the making but taa-daa! I haven't forgotten you or this story. I just hope you actually like this chapter, I've never done something like this before with all the fighting. There are going to be bigger fights, that part gets explained soon, so if you're unimpressed don't worry it all gets better.  
Also, just out of curiosity, who do you think Karasu reminds Sakura of?  
Thanks for all the support I've gotten for this story, it means a lot to me. You're all amazing, and thanks again!  
\- Charandia _**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Karasu and Naruto entered the hidden base and were greeted with silence. The corridors, with adjoining doors leading to bedrooms, were empty and the lights were only barely clinging on to life. The only sound was that of their footsteps, and in the main hall where they had shared a meal not too long ago was deserted and empty.

'Where is everyone?' Naruto asked tiredly, looking around unhappily. He walked over to a couch, draped his cloak next to it and let himself fall lazily onto the soft cushions.

'Left already.' Karasu replied without much emotion. Naruto looked over to his partner curiously, but saw nothing to suggest her being upset so he decided to ignore her lack of emotion.

Karasu walked around to the kitchen and rummaged through it soundlessly, moving tins and cans aside, grabbing random ones and then placing them on the counter. Naruto sighed and craned his neck to look at Karasu again. Her eyes had changed to their bright icy blue, eyes lighter and colder than his.

'What're you doing?' He asked tiredly.

'Making a cake.'

'Why?'

'Because what else is there to do except for wait around for Pain's orders. Going outside right now would mean running into someone we don't want to meet right now. They know you're alive, they're searching for you.' Karasu explained quickly and rashly, grabbing things and beginning to stir the batter together with tremendous enthusiasm.

'And you.' Naruto said in a sing-song voice as he stood up and grabbed some orange juice from the fridge. Karasu froze mid-stir and slowly raised her head to look at Naruto. He pretended not to notice, investing himself in squeezing an orange to acquire the juice from within. Tobi has most likely had the last of the pre-squeezed juice.

'And me?' Karasu asked slowly, voice as frosty as a blizzard. It sent shivers up Naruto's spine, but he pretended that she hadn't affected him in the slightest.

'Indeed.' He answered coyly.

'What do you mean, _and me_?' Karasu whispered carefully, pronouncing each word with extra venom.

'I mean, Sakura is an intelligent girl. Did you see the way she was looking at you? I noticed. She's suspicious, she has an idea in her mind, and she's going to investigate. Isn't your family still in the Leaf?' Karasu's icy silence was all the answer that Naruto needed. He chuckled darkly at her frozen form. 'She's going to find them.' He whispered darkly, eyes burning bright with mischief. Karasu's muscles tensed angrily at his words, and he almost thought that she was going to fight him. But then she seemed to relax. To melt. Everything just sunk and she seemed smaller.

'I'm done baking.' She declared quietly, leaving the half-mixed cake batter where it lay. Naruto looked at her retreating form in confusion. This was rather unlike Karasu.

'But the cake isn't baking. It isn't even finished mixing.' Naruto called hesitantly. She had never walked away from baking in all her life, at least the life that Naruto had known. Was Sakura investigating her past something she feared or dreaded so much?

Naruto didn't even know much about Karasu's past, and everyone else always kept quiet about it. All Naruto knew was that she had entered the Akatsuki incredibly young, and she had made them into a family by insisting they spend time together to the point where she'd actually tied down members with her jutsu's. Apart from that, she was a virtual mystery to him.

'I know.' Karasu said before she vanished into the dark hallways. With her gone, the entire base seemed quiet and still, like a creature holding its breath.

Naruto frowned unhappily and began cleaning up after his female partner. It took him only ten minutes, but the longer he did it the more he began thinking about Sakura and Karasu. Karasu had come from the Leaf, and he'd only taken a stab in the dark about her family. He couldn't help but wonder if he had once known them, maybe even been what he had believed to be friends back then.

Perhaps someone else would know, someone who had been close to Karasu from the beginning.

If Sakura's revelation was going to put Karasu in danger, then the Leaf ninja would need to be eliminated.

!

Sakura walked through the Leaf slowly, thankful that she was alive and well but also disturbed by the turn of events. Kakashi was still in the hospital, as was the rest of the team that had confronted Naruto and the other Akatsuki. Thankfully Gai's team had managed to fare well with the traps that had been set, and they were walking around the Leaf with only scratches and bruises to contend with.

It was a nice day, though everything around her seemed ominous. She was currently on her way to see her mentor, Lady Tsunade. She had gotten back her old secretary, Shizune, and things seemed a lot calmer and happier now. Things were more organised . . . at least until they had all returned. It had been a day of peace, or at least a day that had been much more peaceful than the day when the team returned. Tsunade had always been hectic, but nothing was compared to now, when Tsunade found out that Naruto was alive and in league with the Akatsuki. Sakura had yet to tell Tsunade about the extent of Naruto's hatred of the Leaf, and it frightened her to think of the meaning of it all.

It still hurt to think of Naruto, more than ever now. It had been horrible when Sakura had believed him to be dead, but it was worse now. Sakura had always thought it would be a day or even a week of celebration if it was discovered that Naruto was alive. Sakura had dreamt of it so many times, she had envisioned Naruto's homecoming. Him walking through the gates of the Leaf and everyone running to him, Sakura being called and being all confused, even more so when she'd see the crowd of ninja laughing and crying and cheering. Then she'd walked through the crowd and there she'd see his grinning face, those eyes alight with life and pure joy just like they had always been.

Now she had seen his eyes, full of hatred and loathing and pure disgust at her, at Sakura. She had seen him fight too, and he had gotten better but he hadn't shown them even half of what he could do, of that Sakura was sure. Then again, neither had they. Naruto didn't know what _they _were capable of either.

_What am I thinking? I can't fight Naruto? _We _can't fight Naruto. _Sakura thought shakily. She looked down and saw that her hands were shaking, and when she looked up again she was standing in the cemetery, standing in front of Naruto's grave.

She wasn't the only one.

She looked to her side and saw what she first thought of as an old man, bent and stooped over as he sat on an unmarked rock. Then the man turned and looked right at Sakura and she recognised him as her team leader. He was heavily bandaged, and he was breathing heavily and it seemed to be difficult for him. He attempted to smile at her, but Sakura saw how painful even that was for him.

'Why are you here?' She asked him, attempting to sound stern but only sounding lost.

Kakashi sounded the same. 'Just needed to walk and I came here.' He whispered. Sakura saw his favourite perverted book by his side, but it hadn't been opened. It seemed that he couldn't even find the strength to read it.

'You should be in the hospital.'

'When do I listen?' Kakashi looked up at Sakura once again before letting his head fall to look at his folded hands.

'You could have died. That wound was massive and the extent of the damage isn't yet known.' Sakura reprimanded him.

Kakashi shrugged carelessly. 'I'm fine.'

Sakura looked at her leader, really looked at him, and saw that he wasn't going to listen to her. She was also willing to bet that if she tried to force him she'd have a fight on her hands. She'd win, Kakashi was still seriously injured, but fighting was only going to cause further damage to his injuries.

'All this time. All this time I thought he was dead and he was . . . _living _with those criminals.' Kakashi whispered so quietly Sakura had to strain to hear his words.

'It's not your fault.' Sakura said, sitting down cross-legged next to Kakashi. The rock wasn't big enough for the both of them so she had to take the grass instead.

'It is.' Kakashi whispered, shaking his head slowly. 'I left him. I chose Sasuke over Naruto and look what happened.'

'If you had taken Naruto instead of Sasuke, then Orochimaru would have gotten what he wanted and we'd be fighting Sasuke instead.' Sakura tried to comfort Kakashi. She knew what she was saying was true, but it didn't make anything better. It was just something to fill the air with.

'But Sasuke . . . he's different. Naruto was always . . . he was never bad. He never wanted to _do _bad or harm anyone good. But now . . . you saw him. You saw what he could do, what he did and the things he _said._' Kakashi didn't know how to say what he was trying to say, but Sakura knew exactly what he meant. Naruto had always been a knuckle-head, determined and fiercely loyal. He had been innocent in a strong sense. But now he was full of hatred and revenge and he wanted to hurt people. He just didn't care. It was almost worse than him being dead.

The two sat in silence, pondering their separate yet similar thoughts. A few times Sakura looked over to Kakashi and saw that his condition was worsening. Every time it was worsening and she knew that he'd be needing to go back to the hospital soon.

Minutes of silence and then Kakashi slowly stood up. Sakura could see every one of his limbs shake with the combined effort, and she could see how agonising it was for him. But he didn't complain. He turned to Sakura and offered a weak smile. 'I should go. I can't report much to Tsunade, I'm going to be sleeping for a while I think. Please report in my place.' Kakashi asked her before shuffling off.

It seemed to take forever until he was gone, Sakura knew that if she had asked him if he needed help, or even insisted, he would have blatantly refused her.

When she couldn't see him anymore she left in the opposite direction to Tsunade's office.

!

Karasu lay on her bed on her back, staring up at the ceiling with a scowl gracing her beautiful features. Her hair, as black as a fresh strip of black paint, lay around her like delicate feathers and her eyes, which were now their calm icy colour, were glaring daggers at the pale ceiling.

Her room was nothing but black and white, with the two moving around each other to create images on the walls and the ceilings and patterns on her bed and lampshades. The only piece of colour in the room was the dull red scarf with tribal patterns on it resting on the door handle.

Karasu threw up the old toy she'd kept from her previous life into the air and caught it as it came falling down again. She didn't let herself think of where it came from or who had given it to her, all she let herself feel was the smooth coloured wool that covered the small rice sacks.

She thought of what Naruto had said, and then she thought of the pink haired girl. She had been intelligent, though Karasu hated herself for admitting it. She had been beautiful too, but once again Karasu didn't like to think of it like that. The only problem was that the girl hadn't fought with everything she had, probably because she'd been hoping to appeal to Naruto's old self. However the other Akatsuki had seen to it that that would never be the case.

That girl . . . had she actually figured it out? Had she actually seen who was Karasu's old family just by her hair and jutsu? Well her family's jutsu were incredibly unique, and she had heard rumours about her older brother. It seemed he had followed in their father's footsteps.

_I bet he's glad that at least one of his kids turned out alright. _Karasu thought bitterly, gripping the toy in her hand tighter. Just before it popped she released the pressure and felt the rice sacks sag with relief, but she hardly noticed it. All she could suddenly think of was her old family, always smiling and happy and _always _ignoring her. _Always _doting on her perfect older brother.

!

Sakura entered Tsunade's office hesitantly, and saw that the entire room looked as if an epic ninja battle had happened only moments before. Even the usually invincible table had been halved and the halves shattered.

Shizune walked in behind Sakura and surveyed the scene with dull eyes. She turned to Sakura with a sad little smile and then walked back out, carrying Tonton in her arms.

Tsunade stood by the window, hunched over and breathing heavily as she stared out at the sky. She didn't seem to realise that Sakura had entered, but Sakura knew her mentor better than that.

'Lady Tsunade?' Sakura asked gently. Tsunade flinched towards Sakura at her name, turning her head so that her confused eyes could see Sakura. Sakura walked towards her mentor, picking her way across the debris. There was only one picture frame hanging on the wall, and that was of Tsunade and her little brother. The one of her fiancé had been smashed but the picture was luckily still intact.

Sakura saw that in her hands was another photograph, and there was a smiling blonde kid staring out at Sakura.

'Lady Tsunade . . . I need to report from the mission. Kakashi asked me to.' Sakura said carefully. She wasn't sure how Tsunade would receive the news.

'Of . . . of course.' Tsunade turned shakily to go to her desk, but saw that she had wrecked it in her blind fury. Instead she opted for a windowsill. Tsunade motioned for Sakura to begin.

'There isn't a lot to report which you haven't already heard,' Sakura began slowly. 'All that's left is the magnitude of . . . Naruto's rage.' Tsunade visibly tensed at the name and her eyes hardened, but she nodded stiffly for Sakura to continue. Sakura breathed deeply before continuing. Then Sakura lost her professionalism, and she broke in the memory of her former teammate's hatred. 'It was horrible Lady Tsunade. He absolutely hated us! He fought Temari and Kankuro and Kakashi by himself, but he was also hitting and kicking Gaara's body! He was mocking us and Kakashi told me that Naruto believes that we _abandoned _him at the Valley of the End. He never said it, but we could see and _feel _that he hated us, and he claimed that the Akatsuki had shown him the truth of the Leaf and the Sand and we think . . . we think that he's in league with the Akatsuki to fight us, to defeat us. Lady Tsunade . . . he was so different I couldn't even recognise him. Even when I first saw him I thought that he was an imposter. I couldn't even recognise him . . .' Sakura trailed off in small sobs as she held her hand over her mouth and bent her head to cry. She felt the tears drip onto her hand and they only seemed to solidify her depressive state.

Tsunade was silent, but then Sakura felt her hand on her shoulder, felt the warmth being carried over to her. Tsunade's quiet reassurance only made Sakura cry harder, but it was alright now, because she wasn't crying alone. It was alright, because she'd lost someone in probably the worst way imaginable.

Sakura stood there crying for a while as her mentor held her shoulder and cried silently as well. They were both remembering better days, less complicated ones, and they both wished that they could just go back and change the course of time.

Sakura felt as if her chest were burning and splitting open with the pain, and her head suddenly felt clouded as she continued to sob breathlessly, and she could no longer smell the scent of broken wood and burned books that had hung heavy in the air. But as her tears dried up, the rest of her senses slowly came back to her.

She rubbed her eyes and smiled at Tsunade, thanking her silently for her support. Tsunade nodded, eyes red from crying as well, before removing her hand from Sakura's shoulder. 'Is that all?' Tsunade asked, voice cracking a little at the end.

Sakura was about to nod and leave when she remembered something incredibly important. She went to speak, knew immediately that her voice would crack, and took a moment to compose herself before continuing. 'No Lady Tsunade. I wanted to ask, did a young kunoichi, she would probably have been studying at the academy, disappear or even die? It would have been years ago, she may have even been younger I'm not sure.' Sakura asked, her voice still weak and brittle from the tears. She could still feel them, just out of reach but ready just in case her emotions overwhelmed her again.

'I don't know Sakura I haven't been here that long. I'd have to have a look at the records for that. Is it important?' Tsunade sighed, holding a hand to her head. She was probably looking for something alcoholic now to drown her sorrows in.

'It's highly important Lady Tsunade. It may help with . . . with Naruto,' Sakura had to take a deep breath before saying his name once again, she could feel those tears threatening to well over with that one name. 'If it helps it would have been from one of the clans I think.' Sakura added.

Tsunade looked at her suspiciously but didn't say anything. Instead she called for Shizune, who immediately took in their appearances and did what she was asked in record time. She came back with a small file which Tsunade opened and then passed to Sakura. Sakura read the name and knew that her suspicions had been correct.

'Thank you Lady Tsunade, Shizune. I need to investigate this further.' Sakura explained before taking her leave.

'Keep me informed.' She heard Tsunade mutter as the door closed behind her.

With new purpose Sakura headed out the building and to one of her old friends houses. She only hoped he was there at this time.

!

Karasu swung her legs over the edge of her bed and stood up, walking slowly over to her dresser. She opened the top drawer and removed a phony bottom before taking in what she was seeing, what she had tried to burn when she had come to the Akatsuki.

Pictures, hundreds of them, of her old life. She rifled through them before deciding on taking them all out, one by one so that she could look over the features of each of the people who had once inhabited her life.

Her finger absently traced over the face of her older brother as he looked up unenthusiastically at the camera. He'd always had that dull and bored look on his face, as if nothing could interest him. She wondered if he still carried that look on his face.

There was another picture of her family, but this one held bitter emotions. It was all of them, mother and father, brother and sister. But she had been pushed out by her father, probably unintentional, but she was in the corner there looking sad and confused as she stared at the camera, whereas her brother had their parents hands on both his shoulders and they looked happy to have him there.

Karasu threw this photo behind her so that she wouldn't have to look at it anymore. She picked up another and saw that it was with her brother and their dog friend, whatever his name had been. They'd been playing together and Karasu had followed them. Her brother hadn't even noticed that she'd been there, though several times she'd tried to be sneaky but so that he could see her as well. He'd never even known she was there, not even when this photo had been taken and you could see half of her face in the background.

There were many photographs like that, where Karasu had either followed family members or tried to be a part of what was happening. As she was going on she felt her chest tighten and her throat begin to burn with the effort of holding back frustrated tears. Why hadn't they loved her just as much as her brother? Why hadn't they cared about her, or her future? When she had came home from her first day at school, and all the teachers had gushed over her Karasu had been so proud. For the first time in her life she had been proud about what she had done, and they had even called her a natural ninja. It should have been the happiest moment of Karasu's life, there should have been a photo, but instead there was one of her brother being congratulated for getting an average on a test and then there was Karasu in the background, looking lost and sad and holding a certificate her teachers had given her congratulating her on her natural talent. She was in the background, just standing there staring at her father and brother.

Karasu didn't even know if they had missed her, if they had known that she was gone. She didn't even know if they found the fake body of her, or if they had grieved. This hurt Karasu the most, just not knowing if her parents had cared enough about her for something as simple as a family funeral.

The tears began to flow then. Slowly at first but then quickly and all at once. Karasu made no sound as she stared at that one photograph, but the tears were like rain and it blurred everything before her. She wasn't entirely sad, she'd never cried just out of sadness. She was still confused, and angry. She was so angry at them all, they had never thought of her as having much worth. Even after that first day at school things had started getting worse and worse. Due to her changing eyes she'd been made fun of, the teachers couldn't catch those people and then the legendary Uchiha had truly started to bloom and he was all the teachers had been able to talk about.

Once again Karasu had been fully ignored, and once again she'd been shoved to the corner for someone who everyone saw as better, but in reality it was someone who had been inferior. She'd hated that life, but here she was really appreciated. The Akatsuki had seen her potential, and they had taken her in. In return she had made them a family. She'd been a little lost girl then, and she'd needed a family and mentors all at once. She'd crafted the Akatsuki with her tantrums and jutsu's into what they were now. Without her they wouldn't even be having shared dinners once a month.

Then she made up her mind. She grabbed all the photographs and heaped them into a pile before lighting a match and letting it drop onto the pile without hesitation. She took another last look at the photograph in her hand, where she was in the background staring at her brother and father.

!

Sakura hurried over to the green fields where she was certain she'd find who she was looking for, stretched out on the grass and staring up at the clouds. She'd been right, he was there with a peaceful look on his face. Out of all the ninja he was the only one who Sakura could name that looked like that right now.

'Shikamaru!' She called out. He turned his head to look lazily at her and he didn't even bother waving a greeting or opening his mouth to say anything.

Sakura really hadn't expected any more.

'Hello Sakura.' Shikamaru greeted when she was close enough so that he didn't have to raise his voice for her.

'Shikamaru can I talk to you about something urgent?' Sakura asked, sitting beside him on the soft grass. The entire meadow filled Sakura's senses, from the birds chirping in the trees just to the side to the smell of wildflowers and fresh grass.

Shikamaru looked at Sakura and his eyes seemed to stare into her heart. She didn't break eye contact, instead she stared straight at him wishing that he would understand how urgent this was. He finally shrugged nonchalantly. 'It's that urgent is it? Go ahead.' He offered.

It was all Sakura needed. 'Did you have a sister once?' She asked.

He blinked at the question, clearly having been taken aback by it. He stared at Sakura for several long moments before sitting up and taking an upright position.

'I did . . . why do you ask?' He said slowly.

'I need to know what happened to her. I need to know about her. It could be related to . . . Naruto.' Sakura explained as shortly as she could. Shikamaru stared at her again before nodding slowly and looking down at his hands. Sakura wondered if he'd ever been asked about her.

'She was different I guess. Mum and dad . . . they didn't pay much attention to her really. It was always about me. It made her shy I guess, she didn't talk much but she was always trying to get our attention in other ways. A few times she'd follow me when I'd do things like practice jutsu, but I never really cared about it. She was just a kid. She started the academy and apparently she was a natural. No one really seemed to care, and it made her distance herself from us. I loved her, I didn't want that to happen so I tried to train with her, but she was too good for me. Her mastery over the shadows was just . . . she was a natural. She could also summon up ravens and turn herself into one of them, so I began to get wary of them as well. But I began to lose time for her I guess. When she was young she vanished and mum and dad immediately went nuts. They went searching for her like I never thought they would, but we found . . . we found her body and we had a funeral for her.' Shikamaru quickly explained his sister's short life.

Sakura nodded, saddened by the emotion in Shikamaru's voice as he talked about his sister. She could tell that he had loved her very much, but unfortunately Shikamaru had never been the best with expressing his emotions and it seemed, in this instance, his parents had been even worse. But there were a few more things she needed to know.

'Shikamaru . . . I'm sorry to keep asking but what she did look like?' Sakura asked gently.

Shikamaru shook his head quickly. 'No, it's alright. If it's for Naruto I'll tell you,' His voice was barely above a whisper now. 'She was incredibly pale, and she had this long jet black hair and her eyes changed. Normally they were blue like pale ice, but when she fought they turned black.'

Sakura breathed out a sharp breath. Shikamaru heard, but he didn't comment on it. He probably thought Sakura would explain it all later.

'What was her name?' Sakura finally asked, though she already knew the answer.

'Karasu. Her name was Karasu Nara.'

!

'Goodbye Shikamaru.' Karasu finally uttered the words she'd never been able to, and dropped the last photograph into the hungry flames.

**So did any of you readers guess this? I mean it was pretty obvious as the chapter went on, but did any of you guess this beforehand?  
Thank you very much for reading this story and continuing to read this up to chapter 10. It means a lot, so thank you so very much.  
\- Charandia **


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